A Devil's Fairy Tale
by TophFan1
Summary: What if Rin never became an exorcist. What if by some freak accident he came to be in Earthland before his story in blue exorcist ever began. This is that story. Rated M for language and to be safe. Image courtesy of ksmile1313
1. Preface

**Id like to start by saying I own nothing**

 **This is a story I've had knocking around in my head sometime now and though I've never written a story in my life I'm going to give it my best shot because I feel it's time I give back to the fanfiction community please go easy in your reviews but with that in mind don't hesitate to give me the pointers and criticisms I need. I am a novice after all.**

Chapter 1

Cold. That is all Rin felt as he stood, caught in the strange hellish gate that was the precipice between worlds, watching his old man die. Frozen with fear and regret, knowing he would never be able to thank him for being the father he knew he didn't deserve. He would never be able to apologize for his petulance.

'How did it come to this? Why did I have to be so ungrateful?' thought Rin.

Then slowly he felt something else welling up within him at the sight of his beloved father figure dying. Rage.

'How dare the piece of shit claiming to be my father take everything from me!' he thought.

With that one thought in mind he drew his sword and released his flames intent on destroying this damned gate attempting to pull him into Gehenna. Flames erupted from Rin and his sword and burned everything around him, consuming and cremating even the corpse of his dear old man, Shiro Fujimoto. Rin ultimately succeeded in destroying the gate that was until now hell bent on claiming him, unfortunately he acted moments too late to prevent his departure from Assiah. However, Gehenna was not his destination either because at that very moment Rin was at the precipice, residing in neither Assiah or Gehenna.

What became of Rin nobody would ever know. The exorcists where able to determine that the Gehenna gate was destroyed prematurely due to a great column of blue fire disintegrating the closing gate and Mephisto was able to determine through his contacts that his father was denied his prize and lost much of his power as it was being channeled through Rin at the moment of the gate's destruction. That night the son of Satan died as no one, not even Satan, knew of another possibility for such an unprecedented event and it was believed nothing could possibly exist between the two worlds. However, fact is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Rin found himself within a limbo without shape or form. Within this not-world he floated, deprived of his senses with no company save his own thoughts. He began to think of what lead him here and how he wished he could have done things differently. 'If I had another chance I could have saved the old man, at the very least I could have been more grateful.' Alas, it was a waste to think of what could have been because he was dead, at least that is what he believed.

Once more he was beginning to feel cold, colder than before the when the rage had consumed him. In the vast and empty nothingness he began feeling a pull from nowhere. The strange force pulled at every part of his being. He felt memories being stripped away and sensation of his limbs slowly becoming less and less noticeable. It was as though the nothingness around him sought to make him at it was...nothing. With that realization he began experiencing another emotion that he had never experienced so strongly in all his life. Rin began experiencing fear. Not just fear but complete and utter terror. To his horror the nothingness around him even began to claim his very emotions and with that even his fear was stolen from him.

As the nothingness continued its silent assault Rin began losing consciousness and his mind slowed. Soon he held but a single thought as he faded. 'If I were stronger I could have saved him' Then all was dark.

Rin, or what remained, held nothing of himself save his soul, a few scattered memories, a sword forged in Assiah that his unconscious hand still grasped like a lifeline and the power of his birthright that had been drawn from Gehenna.

There in the void Rin drifted until he came within reach of another world. A world that knew nothing of his past or heritage. A new world where he would have a new beginning.

At that very moment a great tearing sound was heard in the night sky and a blue comet was seen shooting over the horizon. No one save a lone wizard would witness the landfall of this strange comet and few would ever learn the truth of this celestial event but those who looked to the star that night could scarcely look away. The event would come to be known as the Bright Night of X778.

As fate would have it, that night the lone wizard present to witness the landfall of the blue comet was Gildarts Clive and he was a member of the rowdiest guild in all of Fiore, Fairy Tail.


	2. Falling Star

I'd like to start by thanking everyone who read the intro. Like I said this is my first story but I feel like I'm off to a good start. My first goal is to hit 20k words so rest assured there will be regular updates abiet those updates may come sporadically. My goal is to do Rin's original character justice but develop him in a slightly different direction. Also, this chapter may seem like an off topic aside but I think you will be happy with how it feeds into the next chapter and Rin's backstory ...I hope. So without further adieu here you go guys.

Chapter 2

Gildarts was resting on a large rock at the edge of the Waas Forest with the base of the Hakobe mountain range at his back. A tall, muscular man with slicked back burnt-orange hair and the beginnings of a beard. He was wearing a pair of baggy black pants, dark grey boots, and a white v-neck shirt. 'That ended up being a lot harder than expected' he thought solemnly as he turned his head to look upon his work. To his right were the corpses of nearly fifty blizzardverns and a battered human corpse all partially buried in rubble. He was not pleased with his work. Blizzardverns were typically herbivores and they rarely if ever attacked without cause. Their deaths were senseless. 'Damn her' he thought as he look upon the lone human corpse on the blood soaked battlefield. She was a rouge mage known as the Beast Tamer Bandit who used a lost magic called Beast Subordination Magic to bind dangerous beasts to her will. She, for reasons he would never care to understand, used magically enslaved beasts to kill innocents. She would then loot their corpses and take the valuables of her victims. Averting his eyes from the grizzly spectacle Gildarts leaned back and recalled the events that led up to this scene.

It all began few days ago as Gildarts was approached by Makarov shortly after returning from his last job.

"Hey there my boy. There's something I'd like to discuss with you" called Makarov in a cheerful manner.

Gildarts was reading a few listings on the second floor job board. "What is it?"he said.

"This." Said Makarov while handing him what appeared to be a job.

Taking the paper Gildarts read it aloud. "Locate the king's missing shipment of dinning room chairs. 35,000 jewels upon delivery of furniture." Gildarts sweat dropped. "You're kidding" He deadpanned.

Makarov's demeanor lost all levity and in a serious tone he responded "Afraid not." At this Gildarts raised an eyebrow.

"Care to explain why this job has you too worried to post it on the first floor board?"asked Gildarts. Makarov nodded.

"That missing shipment was coming from Pine village. That's somewhere within the Waas Forest. There have also been several travelers found dead along the routes through that forest. I think the two may be related." replied Makarov.

Gildarts thought for a moment and then responded "I thought the authorities determined those were just animal attacks."

To this Makarov nodded and said "Yes but no valuables were found on any of the travelers. Last I checked most animals don't rob their prey. Listen, It's probably just a coincidence but I'm not comfortable leaving this in the hands of anyone else here. We have a lot of talented youngsters but my gut tells me they're not ready for this one. I'd consider it a personal favor if you took this job."

Gildarts looked over the paper a few moments longer before stuffing it in his coat and heading for the exit. "I'll be back in a about a week" he said as he stepped exited the guild house.

Errands were not typically the kind of job an S-class mage like Gildarts would take but he usually trusted the guild master's instincts. Pine village was a peaceful and isolated community of lumberers who preferred to keep to themselves. The village was so isolated that almost nobody knew exactly where it was. The village's only exports were lumber and some of the most beautiful wood furniture in all of Fiore. Purchases where placed directly with the village's caravans and typically delivered in the next caravan. It had apparently been nearly a month since a Pine village caravan was seen leaving the Waas forest.

His first step was to figure out the fastest way to get to the Waas forest. He decided a to take a train to Clover Town train station and take a magic vehicle from there north towards the eastern edge of the Waas Forest to bypass the mountains. The trip took about two days. Upon reaching the forest he searched another day driving through the many trails that went through the forest when he stumbled upon a wrecked caravan. He found several bodies that where beginning to decompose, 'dead for about a week maybe.' He thought. The sight left him a bit unsettled. He steeled himself and searched the bodies. They appeared to have been mauled to death by beasts judging by the claw and teeth marks as well as the large track marks. He wasn't a tracker by any means but they appeared to have been made by wyverns but wyverns weren't native to the Waas forest as far as he knew. A few blizzardverns sure but they almost never came down from the snowy mountains. If that wasn't strange enough the caravan and everyone in it seemed to have been striped of every last jewel and valuable. Gildarts continued to search the bodies. He managed to find a blood soaked shipping manifest in one man's breast pocket. Most of it was illegible but one item stuck out "22 Sequoia wood chairs." It seemed he had found the fate of the missing shipment.

Gildarts began walking back to his magic car when out of the corner of his eye something on the side of the trail caught his attention. It was a map that appeared to have been crumpled up and tossed aside. As he read it he found it gave the location of Pine Village. At that moment a terrible feeling came over him. 'Whoever was behind this attack must have read this map!' With that thought in mind Gildarts jumped into the magic car and after quickly memorizing the route to the village he dove off, pouring as much of his magic into the car as he could without running the risk of overloading the vehicle.

When he finally reached the village he found a scene that could have easily been mistaken for hell. The dead where scattered about the village with a crow pecking at a few of the corpses. Every house seemed to have been trampled.

"Whoever did this didn't want to leave any witnesses." Gildarts thought aloud. He searched for survivors amongst the corpses and trampled houses. He finally found an old woman with a sizable gash in her abdomen. She was the only living villager he could and she was moments from death herself . He ran to her and tried to stem the flow of blood but she stopped him citing a desire to be with her family. She explained that for weeks they had not been hearing back from any of their caravans and by the time they knew why it was too late. The village had been attacked at dawn. Wiped out and everyone in it murdered by a woman known as the Beast Tamer Bandit. A few moments after recounting her village's last moments she trembled violently then became still. Gildarts laid her down and gently and used his hand to close her eyes. In that moment he made a silent vow to come back and give everyone here a proper burial but first he had a bandit to catch. He was fairly certain of two things. First, considering this bandit waited a about a week after learned the village's location, she probably had a base of operations nearby. Second, judging by the fact the attack took place this morning she couldn't be far.

Gildarts hated that there was nothing he could truly do to give this messed up situation a happy ending. He could not restore what was lost so he decided he would have to settle for giving this Beast Tamer Bandit a good beat down in memory of the lives she cut short.

He followed the tracks leading away from the village and just as the sun was beginning to set he found what he was looking for. A small army of blizzardverns where gathered outside a cave. He could hear a maniacal laugh coming from within the cave. He lightly stomped on the ground creating a smal tremor. The Beast Tamer Bandit stepped, or stumbled, out of the cave with a smug look on her face. Normally he lets his opponent monologue and tell their life story but not today because he was in a foul mood. Just as she began to speak Gildarts ran his fist though the nearest blizzardvern sending nearly a dozen miniature blizzardverns flying with such force that they killed the larger beasts they struck though the sheer blunt force trauma. He then sent his other fist directly into the ground in front of him turning the entire area to rubble while simultaneously creating an earthquake while the from there everything became a blur. He finally came to to see that he had only one opponent left.

In a state of absolute frustration she scream out "Do you know who I am? I'm Anna Maul the Beast Tamer Bandit!" She was battered and broken, barely able to move.

Gildarts said to her "Your fun is over. I'm taking you in. The council can decide what to do with you."

She glared at him as her lips formed wicked smile. "You don't get it do you? I use Beast Subordination Magic. My magic functions like a curse. That means that any animal I have made my subordinate is always under my control and the effect persists as long as I'm alive. How many dangerous beasts not present do you think are under my control throughout Fiore since mastering this magic? Hundreds! All of them could be sent on a rampage with a mere thought! So how about you let me go unless you want my pets to go wild" Anna said as she began the laugh.

Gildarts wasn't sure if she was bluffing but if she was telling the truth attempting to capture her could cost the lives of hundreds. Even if he knocked her unconscious she could possibly sent her beasts of a rampage when she awoke. Gildarts was frozen in thought. As Anna began to limp away something she said occurred to Gildarts. 'She said the effect persists as long as she lives.' That meant capturing her was far too dangerous and it also meant if he let her go the people of Fiore would unwittingly remain her hostages. However, that also mean one more thing. The people of Fiore would only be safe if she where dead. With a heavy heart and steel resolve he dashed forward so fast that Anna didn't even realize what was happening until it was all over. Grabbing her by the forehead Gildarts slammed her head into the ground, crushing her skull.

-Present-

"Okay that's enough of that. It's time to get moving" Gildarts said trying to shake the the memories he was sure would haunt him. He stood and began making his way back towards the village to keep his vow.

As he neared his magic car he heared a strange noise coming from the sky. It sound like nothing he had ever heard before. And when he looked up he saw a great ball of blue fire falling from what seemed like a hole in the sky night sky. It didn't take him long to realize that it was getting closer so without a moment to lose he ran as fast as he could towards the base of the mountain using his crush magic to create a tunnel to protect him from the impact.

The earth seemed to shake at the blue fireball crashed near the battlefield. When the ground became calm again Gildarts carefully made his way back out, using his crush to reopen the collapsed exit. As he stepped out he saw a smoking crater where until just a few moments ago his car was parked. At that moment the only thing Gildarts could think to say was, "Shit. That car was a rental" as he sweat dropped.


	3. A Fairy finds the Devil

Hey everyone Tophfan checking in again with another update. I know the first two installments where pretty dark but that not and indication of what the whole story is about. Real life has highs and lows. This story is no different. That is why I've really struggled with selecting the genre tags that apply. This story will have a bit of everything. I felt the need to introduce Gildarts as an introspective character in a grim setting, but still retain the same outwardly carefree and friendly character seen in the anime, so he would have the best possible mindset to connect with a troubled youth. Also sorry about this being a short chapter but I really felt they need to post this separately from the main body of the next chapter. Don't worry though the next chapter will be much longer. Anyways we better get on with the story before I start unloading more spoilers. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

All was silent and there was no sensation to be felt. Rin did not know how long he had been here. He couldn't even tell if he was awake. 'How long have I been here? Did I fall asleep or maybe I just woke up? Maybe I'm dead.' As he continued to drift even his sleeping mind grew quiet. Without even his thoughts to keep him company he became aware of It. Silence. True silence. It was the void. He became aware of the void clawing at his sanity and how it was actively trying to erase his very being, body and soul. He desperately reached out with his mind trying to find something, anything that existed.

Rin did not know how long he had been fighting to retain his existence but just as he thought he would be consumed and cease to exist he felt it. He felt something that existed. At first it was faint but it continued to grow stronger. He did not know it but fate had smiled on the young demi-human. He had actually drifted to the edge of another reality and what he was feeling was the energy or ethernano of this reality.

Rin basked in the energy as he felt it restore his existence and push away the nothingness of the void. 'What is this?' He began to feel sensation and he could once more hear his own thoughts. He felt the warmth of his blue flames, a feeling that until now he thought he would never miss. He felt something new as well. It was as though this energy was actually replacing the part of himself that had been lost to the void. Unfortunately the void had reached his memories before he had reached the safety of the ethernano and could not be restored. Like water, the ethernano filled the empty spaces left by the void and it restored him if only physically. Still, it was a welcome feeling even if some trace of this intangible void would always exist within his memories. As the ethernano continued to flow through and around him he once more began to feel whole, broken, but still whole.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed. He could have sworn he heard something. 'What was that? Was that a sound? Is that...wind?"he thought. At the moment Rin had become whole once more he passed back into reality, but not the reality fromwhence he came. He was now in Earthland and he was falling. As he picked up speed the wind became a deafening howl, fanning his blue flames and giving him the appearance of a comet in the night sky. "What is this? I feel like I'm falling!" Rin yelled. Suddenly the realization hit him. 'Wait a sec. I can hear myself. That must mean..." Rin slowly opened his eyes. "...I'm back in the real world!..." his mind paused almost unable to process the second detail of his situation. He was falling and he was falling fast "...Oh Shitttt!!" That was all he managed to say before everything went black.

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Tonight had been one of the most trying day of Gildarts life. He was physically and emotionally drained. It wasn't that this was the toughest battle of his life. Heck it wasn't even close. It was the horrors of what had occurred today that weighed heavily on him. Now, as if to add insult to injury, it seems the heavens felt his day wasn't bad enough yet and saw fit to destroy his magic car.

"This day just gets better and better." Said Gildarts sarcastically while looking at the crater with a bored expression.

Gildarts carefully edged closer to the crater where his car had until moments ago sat. "Today has not been my day. That settles it, from now on I'm walking wherever I need to go." He said slightly irritated.

Now at the edge of the crater he watched as the smoke began to clear. "I wonder was that was. Wait a second... it couldn't be" Gildarts began.

As the smoke cleared he saw blue flames carpeting the crater floor near a person. A boy dark blue blood soaked hair and pale skin wearing a blue hoodie and dark green pants. "...a kid?" Gildarts said. With barely any hesitation he jumped into the crater and quickly ran to the side of the boy or as close as the flames would allow him.

'That's one hot fire' thought Gildarts as he used his left arm to shield his face from the heat. The kid was in rough shape but oddly enough the flames didn't seem to harm the boy. Under the eerie blue glow of the flaming crater he saw blood trickling from the kid's mouth, a mouth full of unusually sharp teeth and pronounced canines. He was drawing shallow breaths. "Good. It seems he's still alive.' thought Gildarts. The kid had some pointy ears as well. One of the boys legs was bent at unnatural angle just beside his tail. 'Is that a tail?'he thought with a blank expression. 'Why isn't this burning to that boy to death? I can feel the heat from here. Maybe it's his magic. Fire and beast-like characteristics, did this kid use Take Over magic on some kind of fire monster? Wait a Take Over usually end when the user looses consciousness and something feels of about these flames. I definitely sense magic, and a lot of it, but there's something different..' Gildarts ended that line of thought for the moment. "This kid is in trouble but how do I get close to him?" Gildarts thought aloud as he carefully scaned the crater for something the might help he saw a sword. As he picked up the sword he spotted its sheath a few feet away. Still contemplating how to safely provide aid to the heavily injured youth he casually picked up it up sheathed the sword.

Suddenly the flames all retracted and dispersed and the the boys demonic appearance reverted to that of a human kid; a feral looking kid with a tail but still a kid. Gildarts stood silent for a moment with a confused expression as he processed what had just occurred. Still confused and now a bit curious he drew and sheathed the sword again and again and a third time for good measure. Each time he unsheathed the sword the boy transformed and small blue flame would sprout from him. Stopping himself before he became distracted again. Gildarts quickly moved to the boy's side and gave his injuries a closer inspection. Thankfully his injuries didn't appear to be fatal. He was amazed the anyone could survive a fall like that. Satisfied, he scooped the boy up with his free arm and placed him over his shoulder, jarring the boy slightly.

The boy awoke and in a weak voice said, "Give..back ...my s-sword. It's all ... I have left..." before loosing consciousness.

"Sounds like the kid has been through a lot." Said Gildarts to nobody in particular. Leaping from the crater, Gildarts took one last look back at the battlefield and smoldering cater. Gildarts sighed "It's almost midnight. Hopefully tomorrow will bring with it a little less excitement " he said. Carrying the strange boy on his right shoulder and a mysterious sword in his left hand Gildarts inhaled deeply and began the long and hopefully uneventful walk back to the ruins of Pine Village slightly relieved that he would not be the only person still living this terrible night.


	4. Revelations?

Hey guys. To start, a special thanks to zeopeanut for to support and good advice. Never paid attention in liberal arts classes so I'm not certain I'll get it right but I will try to remember

"line breaks in dialogue"

I'll TRY to remember. Also I want to let everyone know that the first three installments of this story were all about setting the stage so get ready because the story is about to really get started. Enjoy 

Chapter 4

Rin let out a small groan as he began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes as and squinted in response to the sunlight. As his eyes adjusted he took note of his surroundings. It appeared to be early to mid morning. He was on a straw bed in the corner of a small single room house. At the foot of the bed, he noticed a large trunk and on the other end of the room was a small table with two chairs, a table, and a small pantry. Looking to his left he noticed the whole front of the house had been demolished and on the wall a next to the headboard was a small rack with axes, a shovel, and a various other tools. He sat up only to be met with a wave of pain. "Ahh, I feel like I got run over by a car." He gasped while reaching for his head only to notice it was covered in bandages.

"Actually it was the other way around. You fell from the sky and landed right on top of my car." Said a cheerful voice. Rin quickly turned his gaze back towards the missing front of the building. Standing at the entrance was a tall muscular man with red hair who appeared to be in his late thirties. Hanging from his shoulder was Rin's sword.

"Sorry about the rough first aid work. I'm afraid I don't know any healing magic. By the way the name's Gildarts, mage of Fairy Tail, and welcome to my camp." Said the large man.

Rin looked first to his sword and then to the man. 'Wait did he just say magic and Mage and what's a fairy tail? Never mind that; he's got my sword.' Thought Rin. "Give me back my sword." He said glaring at the man.

"Whoa kid. Is that any way to thank the man that carried you to safety and dressed your wounds?" Said Gildarts with a smirk.

"Give it back!" Rin growled as he shifted his weight to stand up from the bed feeling a bit of stiffness in his right leg. Two blue flames sprouting from his forehead as he tightened one hand into a fist.

'Oh it seems he can use his magic without the sword, but his flames seem far more subdued. I thought this was the simply the source of his magic but it seem it's true purpose is to help him contain and channel his fire magic.' Gildarts thought, still smirking at the angry child. "Stay down." Gildarts said while crossing his arms.

Rin leaned forward to spring into action. Suddenly a white aura began flowing around Gildarts and Rin was frozen. Unable to move his body Rin fell to the floor feeling a dull pain as his right leg hit the floor.

Releasing his aura Gildarts turned to leave. As he exited he called out to Rin. "I'll be back to check on you when you've calmed down enough to talk."

Rin remained motionless trying to regain his composure. 'What the hell was that?' He thought. After a few minutes m, feeling slightly recovered, he looked down to his leg. It was wrapped tightly between two pieces of wood and the pants leg ripped off. His hoodie had been replaced with bandages wrapped around his ribs. He used the edge of the bed to pull himself up and slowly got to his feet. Reaching over to the rack near the bed he grabbed a long shovel to use as a walking stick and began hobbling in the direction he had seen Gildarts heading.

Gildarts was at the edge of the village near an old cemetery gathering up the last of the villagers that had lost their lives to Anna Maul. "Damn. This graveyard is about to get a lot bigger." He said while wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Hey!" Called a voice from behind him. Turning back Gildarts saw the kid limping towards him, using a shovel to take the weight of his broken leg.

'This kid's as tough as adamantine. I figured it'd be at least a week before he'd be up and about and last I checked his right leg was completely shattered. He shouldn't be walking around. The kid must be one hell of a quick healer.' Thought Gildarts as he watched the boy come closer.

As the boy approached he suddenly froze. A look of horror on his face. Gildarts didn't need to follow his gaze to know what had had disturbed the boy so deeply. Behind him was a pile of about eighty bodies all bearing indications of brutal murder.

"What happened?" The boy said before falling to his side and puking while propped up on his hands and the knee of his good leg.

'One things for sure. The kid might have a bad attitude but he ain't evil. Shit, no kid should see something like this.' Gildarts thought as walked up to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let it out boy. I'm sorry you had to see that"

"Rin" said the boy.

"What was that? I didn't catch that." Stated Gildarts as he squatted down beside the boy.

"My name is Rin. ... What happened here?" Rin responded unable to take his eyes off of the ground for fear that he might catch a glimpse of the horror in front of him.

"This was a secluded village called Pine where some of the best woodworkers and craftsmen in the world lived until a mage, turned bandit murdered them all and loot their corpses. I'm just here to give these poor souls a proper burial." Said Gildarts solemnly. "Will you be alright Rin?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Why would a bandit target a place like this?" Said Rin as he wiped his face.

"Some of the furniture made here can sell for as much as 1,000,000 jewels" said Gildarts, feeling it was enough of an explanation.

Both remained quiet for a while until Rin decided to speak again. "Sorry about my behavior... and thanks for patching me up." Said Rin, obviously struggling a little to swallow his pride.

Gildarts helped Rin back to his feet and handed him his shovel. "Don't worry about kid. You aren't the first Hot headed fire mage I've come across." Gildarts said, slapping Rin on the back and almost knocking him over.

"Mage? That's the second time you've said that. What the hell are you talking about? Also, what's a fairy tail?" Rin asked looking a little confused.

"How hard did you hit your head when you fell from the sky?" Gildarts asked rhetorically before answering Rin's question. "A mage, or a wizard are people like you or me who wield magic. Fairy Tail on the other hand is a mage guild; an organization that obtains and disseminates jobs and missions to its members. However in the case of Fairy Tail I think it's more than that. It's a place of comradely. I would even go so far as to call it a family. Now that I'm thinking about it, where the hell are you from that you've never heard of such things?"

"I'm from..." as Rin began to answer he froze. 'Wait, where the hell am I from' he thought frantically searching his mind for the answer. 'Okay, I'll just start with what I know. My name is Rin. This power is... the Blue Flames of Satan. Is it magic maybe? I have a brother. His name is Yukio and my dad's name is...' he struggled trying to grasp a memory that simply wasn't there. 'My dad is, no; I call him my old man. He is, he is ...dead because of my birth father.' He remembered. As he remembered the one memory he wished he had not remembered he began to scream and blue flames started dancing around his body but he did not loose himself in his anguish. The fires quickly dissipated and Gildarts caught Rin as he began to fall forward. "I can't remember. It's like most of my memories are gone. Not forgotten. They just aren't there." Rin said with his head hung low and tears running down his face.

"That's alright kid as hard as you hit the ground a little amnesia isn't surprising. Let's get you back to camp" said Gildarts as he helped Rin down the trail to the half destroyed house.

About ten minutes later they arrived. Rin's belly comically growled at the thought of food. "Did you bring any food with you?" Asked Rin

"Unfortunately all of my rations were in the car you crash landed on last night but I'm sure the previous owner of this house left something in the pantry." Gildarts said as he walked towards the pantry and started digging around for something to eat. He found a large pot as well as a sack of potatoes and some cured meat. He stared to dump it all into the pot to cook it all up only to be suprised by Rin frantically leaping forward to stop him. What surprised Gildarts was not that Rin tried to stop but that in his haste Rin used his broken leg and inadvertently broke his makeshift leg brace at the knee and didn't seem to notice.

'What the hell is this kid? Every bone in that kid's leg was shattered last night.' Thought Gildarts as he stared scene before him, deep in contemplation.

"You can't just throw it all in the pot like that! It'll ruin the consistency and you have to scrape the excess salt off the meat first." Rin said, oblivious to what had occurred.

"Rin. What can you remember from before?" Gildarts asked as Rin was crouched over trying to rub to sticks together to start a fire. 'Did this goofy kid forget he was a fire mage?' He thought, momentarily distracted by the ridiculous situation.

Rin paused as he stopped rubbing the two sticks together. "I can only remember being in a large room when a demon busted into the building to capture me. I remember someone, someone important to me, my father maybe, telling me that I was actually the son of Satan and that I inherited his power of blue flames. He gave me that sword, the Kurikara, and told me to keep it with me at all times. Everyone there fought to protect me but the old man who gave me the sword was possessed and he tried to drag me through a strange demonic hole in the ground. He used the last of his free will to protect me by stabbing himself in the heart. When I saw that I got so angry that I drew the sword and my powers came out. I burned the creepy hole and even my old mans body away when I lost control of my power but I guess I was too late and I found myself in a strange place. I drifted in that place I can't describe, a place that can't be described except maybe as 'nothingness'. It felt like if I drifted there any longer I wouldn't even exist. Outside that night at I can remember how I felt growing up, a love of cooking, being hated by others; and that I had a twin brother named Yukio but I can't remember the last time I saw him. I don't think he had the powers I do but I think he was a lot smarter than me. That's all I can remember. I Can't even remember my last name. No, it's not like I can't remember. It's like, it's like the memories just aren't there." Having shared with Gildarts nearly every memory he could find within his mind Rin looked at Gildarts and said "Look I know it sounds crazy but it's not a lie!" as he stomped, cracking the foundation with his formerly broken leg.

Gildarts closed his eyes and sighed "Listen kid, I don't think your lying and I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. And I will tell you this; Demon or not I can tell you're not some evil monster.That being said it would probably be best if you didn't go around telling everyone this. Most people probably will think you're crazy or even a threat if you told them that." He said as Rin stirred the contents of the pot. Gildarts wasn't exactly sure when he had managed to start the fire.

"Honestly I don't know why I told you all this. Saying it all out loud, it does sound crazy." Rin said as he put the finishing touches on the potato and beef soup.

"Yep. It does sound crazy. Also, I gotta tell ya, the Blue Flames is a lame name. Very unoriginal. You should just call it Hellfire Magic. Much cooler."Gildarts said while chuckling

"Just eat your soup old man" Rin said with a tick mark on his head while presenting Gildarts a bowl.

"Mmm. This is delicious. You're quite the cook young man." Said Gildarts, happily devouring several helpings before finishing and thanking Rin for the meal. "Listen why don't you rest up. I'm gonna finish searching the village to make sure I've located everyone."he said.

"Wait, I'll help"said Rin as he reached for his shovel.

"Are you sure. I know you were pretty shaken up back there" said Gildarts

"I'll be fine. Besides, those villagers deserve a proper burial." Rin said with a look of grim determination.

Gildarts looked at the boy before him both surprised and impressed. "Alright" he relented. "You can start digging graves near the cemetery. I'll look for some more food while I'm at it." He said as he turned to leave sparing a glance at the cracked foundation. 'That wasn't magic. That was raw strength. The kid's unusually strong, durable enough to survive crashing into Earthland like a meteor, and in less than a day he can heal from injuries that would cripple a normal person. This kid is inhuman.' Gildarts inwardly mused as he saw Rin hilariously continue using the shovel as a support, oblivious to the fact that his leg was healed.

Gildarts made his way through the ruins of Pine Village searching from house to house as he neared the end of his search he noticed a small cottage at the edge of town. It was easy to miss as the yard around it was overgrown and the roof liked to have been ripped off recently, likely by one of those damned blizzardverns. "Looks like this is the last one." Said Gildarts, glad to be at the end of his search.

He approached the destroyed cottage and began searching the rubble. Near the back of the cottage he saw an arm sticking out from beneath the rubble. Moving the rubble he found the body of a boy who looked to be about the same age as Rin. The boy was a good bit more muscular than Rin but they looked enough alike that they could have passed as brothers. Kneeling down to pick the body up he noticed the boy was grasping a book.

Gildarts took the book and decided to read a little. He guessed it was probably a diary of some sort. As he read he found it told the story of a boy who had a father and a twin brother. The mother having died in childbirth. The two boys were the only magically gifted people in the village.

The boy dreamed of joining a guild and obtaining a unique magic that nobody else possessed. He wasn't as naturally gifted as his twin brother who showed great promise with fire magic but the boy was very clever.

"To bad. The kid will never get the chance now." Gildarts thought aloud with a sad look in his eyes.

The father was a woodcutter and amateur archaeologist who held little ability for magic but was supportive of his two sons. In his free time he often took the boys on expeditions to the edge of the neighboring Worth Woodsea to look at old Nirvit ruins.

Curiously Gildarts read more and learned that on one expedition the boy's father found a crystal orb that could hold a mage's knowledge of a single magic. The father gave the orb to the boy in hopes that it would help him achieve his dream.

"An ancient memory lacrima ehh. I've heard of them. 'In the distant past they were often used as a sort of vessel for storing and studying developing schools of magic. It's said that the technique for forging them is a lost art. The magic knowledge stored in these lacrima was usually outdated compared to their modern counterparts but sometimes they hold powerful lost magic. These lacrima are extremely rare and extremely valuable regardless of what magic they hold.'" Said Gildarts, remembering a long winded explanation Makarov had given on the subject long ago.

Now fully engrossed in the story of this boy's life Gildarts decided to read the rest of the story. When the boy used the orb, or memory lacrima, he learned that it held the knowledge of early studies in gravity magic. However, as an early attempt at studying gravity magic it was a seriously limited spell. It could increase gravity but it could not change the direction of gravity or reduce gravity. This ancient variant of gravity magic was an area affect spell centered on the user and the area of effect could expand depending on the users preference and ability.

'Wow, this variant of Gravity Magic is practically useless. First, you can't use this spell on an opponent without using it on yourself. Second, if you don't have a greater strength to weight ratio than your opponent it actually puts you at a disadvantage. Third, depending on your ability your opponent could simply use ranged attack from outside the range of your gravity. Finally, no human can increase gravity in any significant way with this spell, especially over long periods of time, without running the risk of seriously injuring or even killings themself.' Gildarts thought upon learning of the magic the boy learned.

Reading more Gildarts learned that the boy was well aware of the shortcomings of his new magic but still loved it because he knew nobody would have the same magic as him. The boy swore he would make it his signature magic. To achieve his goal he spared with his brother almost every day and when he wasn't sparring with his brother he would practice sustaining the spell as a means to both acclimate his body and strengthen his body to withstand the higher gravity.

At first the boy's brother won win every single sparring match despite the boy having grown stronger than his brother as a consequence of spending much of his time in increased gravity. The boy lost because his brother possessed larger stores of magical energy than the boy and could simply wait him out. When it seemed there was no way for the boy to make effective use of his Gravity Magic he found a way to win by using his cleverness and ingenuity. Quickly causing short spikes in gravity that only he could predict he threw his brother off balance and used his greater physical strength to deliver an effective punch. After that match his brother resorted to launching fire ball from outside the range of the boys gravity magic and the boy returned to loosing.

"Hah, this kid was brilliant. It's to bad only a freak of nature could wield a magic like that effectively" Gildarts said amused before he continued reading.

As Gildarts continued Reading the story of the boy's life took a dark turn. His father's last expedition to search old ruins led the family to the northeastern base of the Hakobe mountain range just outside of the Worth Woodsea. While there they were attacked by vulcans and his father was hurt. His brother attempted to fight them off as the boy fled. Only one entry remained in the diary before the pages went blank.

Gildarts read it.

 _April 1st X778:_

 _Ive returned home to the place where I abandoned my family like the coward I am a five years earlier on this day. In the ruins I found two skeletons. I believe them to be the remains of my brother and father. I have long since given up on becoming a mage. On that day I fled as far as I could flee. I eventually found myself in the nation of Seven where I joined a dark guild thinking such work might make me a less cowardly person but it only made me feel like the monsters that attacked my family, so I decided to come home. If I were worthy of being a mage I would have stayed to protect my family like my brother. I will instead work in the village like Father and hope that I can see you both again when I die. Unfortunately it may be a while since I'm still only 14 years old. I love you Father; you were the best dad a son could ask for. I love you brother; With your talent and courage I'm sure you would have become a great mage. I bet they'd call you Rin the Reckless, bravest mage in Fiore._

Gildarts nearly dropped the book as he read the last line. He knew it simply had to be a coincidence. 'There's no way' he thought

Looking back down towards the diary Gildarts noticed something sticking out from between the blank pages at the back of the book. He pulled it out and saw that that it was a photograph of two small boys that couldn't be more that nine or ten years old. The child on the left was the spitting image of Rin, albeit younger and lacking in demonic characteristics. He was grinning from ear to ear and holding a small red fireball in his hands. The other was a younger version of dead child beside him proudly holding up a bright purple lacrima. Flipping the photograph over Gildarts saw written in slightly faded ink,

 _Dec. 27, X773, Happy Birthday_ _My little mages Rin and Yukio Huldra_

Closing his eyes; Gildarts desperately tried to retain his composure. When he was confident he was not simply loosing his mind he had but a single thought.

"I need to find Rin"


	5. This Is Home?

Hey people! I know this update took a while but I'm at the point where I'm trying to be very careful about continuity errors. My goal is for every chapter to be a little better than the last. I know it's an unrealistic expectation but "if you aim high sometimes you're successful and reach the top; aim low and you're alway successful in reaching the bottom." With this chapter I hoped to reward everyone who favorited this fanfic with a good read. With that in mind I'm counting on all of you to read it and when you have a friendly suggestion on how I can make this story better don't hesitate to review my story or pm me. Also, because my story has received some praise I'm not going to limit myself with the 20k goal. I'm now aiming for 100k plus. Enjoy! 

Chapter 5

Gildarts walked purposefully in the direction of the cemetery, not even noticing as he walked through several houses with his Crush Magic. After about ten minutes he arrived at the edge of the cemetery grounds. He saw Rin dutifully digging grave after grave with a look of determination in his eyes and no sign of tiring.

'Damn! This kid's industrious. He's already dug nearly all of the graves in just a few hours.' Thought Gildarts as he saw the rows of fresh graves.

Gildarts raised his hand to call out to Rin but hesitated, unsure of what to say. He ultimately decided it would be best to just show him.

"Rin." Called Gildarts.

Rin jumped a little, unaware that Gildarts had been standing behind him.

"Oh hey old man. Check this out." Rin said while excitedly lifting and bending his leg. "It's completely healed. I must be a freakishly fast healer or something." Rin sat his shovel down and approached Gildarts. "So I guess that you didn't find anyone else" he said looking a somewhat relieved.

"Follow me. I have something for you to see" said Gildarts, without responding to Rin's assumption.

Rin began to get angry at being ignored until he saw the look on Gildarts' face. It was an authoritative and serious look but it had an edge of sadness to it. 'Whatever. If it was serious enough to visibly upset Gildarts so I'll let it slide.' He thought. That look honestly frightened Rin a little.

"Alright, lead the way." Complied Rin, sensing the seriousness of the situation.

Rin followed Gildarts down the path inadvertently created earlier through the use of Crush Magic. Rin was amazed that Gildarts' power allowed him to so completely ignore anything in his path. Putting his astonishment aside for the time being he looked towards Gildarts silently leading the way.

'He hasn't said a word since we started walking. I wonder what he saw that's got him acting like this.' Rin thought to himself.

It wasn't long before Gildarts came to an abrupt halt. He turned back to to see Rin with a perplexed look on his face.

"We're here." Said Gildarts

"Here? You mean in that little house?"Rin responded.

"Yes. I'll wait here. What you find in there is for you. You should face it alone." Gildarts half lied.

Unsure of exactly what it was that Gildarts believed so important, Rin felt the gravity of the situation all the same. As he began to approach he began feeling nervous. Despite not knowing what he would see in this house he knew it couldn't be good. He looked back to Gildarts in a vain effort to gain foresight into what was in this house before proceeding.

In truth the real reason Gildarts did not want to go in there was that he could think of nothing to say if the boy in that small house was as he believed, Rin's brother. The best he could do is offer Rin a new home afterwards. After all Fairy Tail is nothing if not a home for those who bear the scars of a tragic past. Yes, the camaraderie of Fairy Tail is the best medicine for a tragic past. 'That's it. Surely Makarov will accept Rin into the guild. I'll ask Rin if he'd be interested later. I just hope Fairy Tail can handle another fire mage.' Guildarts inwardly mused.

Gildarts watched as Rin crossed the threshold into the broken cottage. At first he heard the clatter of Rin stumbling through the rubble. Then there was silence. Suddenly the air became heavy, laden with an energy like magic but at the same time entirely foreign. A deafening scream came from the cottage accompanied by a massive flare of blue fire and a fierce updraft caused by the incredible amount of heat. Gildarts shielded his face but the heat was excruciating. He quickly backed away leaving flaming footprints as his soles were melting and catching fire. He could feel his skin beginning to crack as the heat of the flames stole the moisture from the air.

'The Hell?! This isn't good. I knew this would likely cause Rin a great deal of grief but this it ridiculous.' Thought Gildarts as he peered into the heart of the blaze to the demonic Rin cradling the body of his brother. He knew he needed to do something fast or Rin might turn this entire village to ash. But he couldn't get close enough to calm Rin down. He would have to resort to a large scale atack to stop Rin at this range but the collateral damage would defeat the purpose of stopping him in the first place. 'I could use All Crush maybe but that might destroy him along with half of the village.' He tried using Crush on the flames themselves in an attempt to crack and nullify Rin's 'spell' but the effect was negligible. 'The hell? I can't break it? This magic's nearly immune to mine. How's that even possible?'

He quickly looked around until his eyes spotted something that might help. 'There's got to be a way through...there, a rock! It's not what I had in mind but it will have to do.' The rock was glowing from the incredible heat of Rin's anguish but there wasn't time to think. Picking up the rock, Gildarts felt intense pain in his hand as he felt his palm sizzle.

"Sorry about this kid" said Gildarts as he hurled the rock with his considerable strength. The rock flew true and pegged Rin in the side of the head. Rin collapsed over the body of Yukio.

Gildarts approached the burned down cottage. Thankfully, the fires didn't spread beyond the cottage and they quickly dissipated once Rin lost consciousness. Inspecting the boy he was thankful to find Rin wasn't severely injured. It appeared the rock to the head only resulted in a large bruise, and that would probably heal quickly considering Rin's ridiculous constitution. Although what really caught Gildarts' attention was what he saw under Rin, the body of Yukio. There wasn't a single burn on his body. He then looked to his own palm. It was charred and covered in blisters. Setting that observation aside for the moment, Gildarts moved to collect the to boys. As he did so he nearly tripped on a peculiar stone tile where a large rug had been before the fire. There was no mortar holding the tile in place. Kneeling down he lifted the tile to reveal a small hole, obviously for stashing valuables. Inside he found a small bag of money and a purple lacrima.

"Looks like Anna Maul may have missed a few valuables. This must be the memory lacrima Yukio learned his magic from." Gildarts mused aloud. He then collected the contents of the small cache before collecting the two boys and taking his leave.

As Gildarts made his way back to camp he began to ponder the day's events.

'This job ended up being way more than I bargained for. The sooner we lay these people, Yukio included, to rest the better. Rin is a tough kid but I don't think his psyche can take much more grief.' Gildarts thought.

"I'll head to the graveyard then. Hopefully Rin will be awake by then. I want to at least have Rin's brother buried before sunset." He said to himself as he continued to mull over all that had occurred in the four days since he embarked from Fairy Tail.

'They're definitely brothers but Rin's missing memories makes it difficult to account for what happened after Yukio last saw Rin, and what Rin can actually remember does little to explain that two year gap. The entry in Yukio's diary about finding to skeletons is bothering me too. Vulcans usually use Takeover on their victims. Why would they leave corpses? Also, there's the matter of Rin's magic. It seems he has always been a fire mage but at some point he obtained a far more potent variant; it's almost more like a Demonic Take Over Magic. Rin's memories suggest that his magic may have something to do with heritage. Maybe Porlyusica can provide some insight. Not only that but I feel like I'm missing something regarding the attack on this village. Even isolated as this place is, wiping out a village is far to bold for a bandit. Anna Maul was actively trying to find this village for a while, a month at least; and she set up her camp unusually close to the village she raided. It's almost like she was searching for something in the village and hadn't yet found it. I feel like something larger is at work here but I don't know what it is.' thought Gildarts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location a slender man with what appeared to be a glass eye sat in a dark room centered around a communications lacrima crystal. Several smaller lacrima sat on shelves lining the walls of the poorly lit room. The central lacrima began to glow revealing a tall, gaunt man with slicked black hair, yellow eyes and a sickly appearance.

"My lord. " Came the voice of the sickly man.

"Yes. Why have you contacted me?" Said the shadowy figure.

"I have bad news. Anna has not checked in. According to my intelligence she may have encountered an S-class wizard from Fairy Tail." Said the sickly man.

"Did she find it?" Said the shadowy figure.

"No sir, but she did relay the location of the village where we believes it is." Said the sickly man

"Then you will travel there and continue her search. I want that ancient memory lacrima. Do not fail me." Called the shadowy figure

"What of Anna, my lord?" Asked the sickly man, raising an eyebrow on his gaunt face.

The shadowy figure paused to consider his options, then said "She has taken far too long as it is. Of the three remaining lacrima believed to have been in Nirvit possession at the fall of their civilization she has only brought me one, found a lead on the second, and is clueless as to the location of the last. It seems to me she is more interested in using the gift I have given her for personal gain and common thuggery... if after more than five years of searching she only brings me one lacrima she is useless." He paused again to flash an ominous smile. "Kill her. I have the Beast Subordination Lacrima so she is easily replaced." Said the shadowy figure before he waved his hand over the lacrima, deactivating it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in Pine Village...

Gildarts had arrived at the cemetery. An few hours passed as he buried each body one by one. Fortunately he only had to dig a few of the graves since Rin had dug most of the graves earlier. Thinking of Rin, Gildarts looked back to him sleeping.

"Hey, wake up." Said Gildarts as he flicked a rock at Rin

"Unggh" groaned Rin as he slowly began to wake.

Rin groggily looked around until the memory of seeing Yukio dead flooded back into his mind. His eyes suddenly grew wide. "Yukio!" He cried out as blur flames began to dance about him once more.

"You need to calm down!" Commanded Gildarts.

"My brother is dead!" Yelled Rin with tears in his eyes.

"Yes. He is but your tears won't bring him back." Stated Gildarts

"Wh-where is he?" Said Rin as he stared upon the ground at his feet.

"I buried him here." Said Gildarts as he gestured toward a small mound at his side.

Rin was silent.

"I'll let you have some time alone. You should take this time to say your goodbyes. You can find me at camp once you've finished." Said Gildarts as he took his leave.

Sometime after Gildarts left, Rin began speaking to the faceless grave of his dear brother. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I can barely remember you but I do remember that you were very important to me. In my memory you seemed to be a lot skinnier but your unmistakably my brother Yukio. I wish you were still here and we could chat. Maybe you would could have told me about what I can't remember. It seems all I have left in my memories of you is that I cared for you deeply and what you're face looked like. (Rin pauses to compose himself) I can't even avenge your death now because Gildarts has already taken the life of your killer. I'm not sure what I will do now but I have a lot to be sorry for. So I'll start by asking that you forgive me. ...Goodbye Brother."

Rin sat in silence a few minutes longer before he took his leave and returned to camp.

As Rin returned to camp he saw Gildarts roasting a small rodent on a spit. Gildarts noticed his approach and called out to him. "Hey kid. I'm gonna go ahead and apologize ahead of time. I'm no where near the cook you are." He said with a lighthearted facade clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Rin took his seat across from Gildarts and quietly stared at the fire beneath the spit. He sat like this, unmoving, the entire time Gildarts cooked the rodent. Rin did not even bother to correct Gildarts for allowing the fire to grow too large. Even when Gildarts sat a plate at his feet he remained still and continued to stare at the now dwindling fire.

"How are you going to handle it? Are you going to wallow in your grief or are you going to live up to your brother's expectations and live a life that would make him proud?"said Gildarts taking note of Rin's melancholy.

At first Rin remained silent but just as it seemed he would not respond, "How exactly am I supposed to do that when I can't even remember his expectations and aspirations? I am literally left with nothing! I know care deeply for my brother but I don't even have a memory of why I care so much." he said, trailing off at the end.

Gildarts simply smirked as he tossed Rin a small travel bag and said, "I hope you don't mind but I packed you a bag."

"What?" said Rin mildly surprised.

"There's nothing left for you here and I'm betting without your memories you don't know the way through this forest. You should follow me, at least as far as Clover Town, but it's your choice. I'll be heading out in the morning." Said Gildarts as he began walking into the partially destroyed house.

Rin looked down at the bag. It was essentially a canvas sack with a drawstring. Inside the bag he saw a bag of coins, a purple crystal ball, a blood stained map, an old photograph of Rin and his brother, and a small journal. "What is all of this?" Asked Rin.

"The map is from me, in case you're ever drawn to this place again. Everything else in that bag is from your brother." Said Gildarts as he sat in a corner and leaned against the wall.

"Hey old man! Where is my sword?" Yelled Rin having just realized still hadn't returned his sword.

"I'll tell you in the morning." Said Gildarts smiling as he closed his eyes.

Rin attempted to protest further but it was no use. In the blink of an eye Gildarts had fallen asleep, exhausted from having gone two days without sleep.

Rin relented, making a mental note to demand his sword back in the morning. He did not entertain thoughts of taking it by force for the several reasons. First, he felt certain Gildarts could kick his ass. Second, Gildarts seemed like a pretty cool guy and Rin didn't really want to hurt him. Finally, he didn't see the sword anywhere on Gildarts person. So, with no possibility of getting his sword back tonight, he turned his attention to the contents of his bag. He settled on going through his brother's journal, hopeful it might shed light on his missing past. Unable to read in the dark, he searched the partially demolished house for something that could serve as a light source. After finding a drawer with a half dozen candles he put all but one in his bag and lit the remaining candle with the embers of the spent cooking fire. He spent the rest of the night reading Yukio's journal under candle light, cover to cover.

Early the next morning Gildarts awoke to a piercing flash of light so bright that it left spots in his eyes despite his eyes being closed. He immediately jumped to his feet assuming that danger was present. Instead, he saw Rin clasping the brightly glowing memory lacrima with both hands, obvious signs of strain and fatigue on his face. Gildarts walked to the boy to make sure he was alright.

"Hey old man. I see you're up. This weird ball is pretty amazing. When you hold onto it and focus it's like a book that crawls into your brain." Rin proudly stated as he shifted the lacrima to one hand and lifted his other hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Yeah kid. You okay there?" Gildarts responded.

"I read my brother's journal front to back. It didn't help me remember anything but it told me enough to help me decide what I want to do with my life." Said Rin, ignoring Guildarts's question.

"And what you decide to do with your life?" Asked Gildarts

"I want to be a mage! Not only because that was my brothers dream, but also because if I became a powerful mage then I can protect the people around me from things like this!" Said Rin

"So tell me. Why bother with your brother's Lacrima? If you read his diary I'm sure you've noticed that it's a seriously limited spell-set with serious drawbacks."

"Because my brother was proud of his magic and believed he could become a great mage using it. So I'm gonna honor his memory by proving him right. Besides, by learning this magic it is like a part of my brother is still here." Said Rin with a look of pure determination.

"Hmm so how do you plan on achieving this goal?"asked Gildarts with a smirk.

"I want to join Fairy Tail...Just as soon as you give me back my sword!" Rin shouted.

At that last comment Gildarts let out a boisterous laugh and responded, "Whether or not you join Fairy Tail is for Makarov to decide; but as for the sword, I'll return it to you if you learn to do this." Gildarts held out one hand, palm facing up, focused and said "Requip!"


	6. Fear the night

Once again hello to all. It does my heart good to see the number of followers growing. First, to zoepeanut thanks for the encouragement. I really do aim to make the characters feel real. Second, to neodynium, Erza is a far more proficient swordsman than Rin at this point but they are around the same age so no master apprentice relationship per se but Rin won't be above taking pointers from someone more skilled with a sword. In this fic I'm going to be moving and updating a little slower for a while also life got in the way a little. I have to start being more careful as the plot thickens to avoid glaring continuity errors. But with that said this story is far from over as I've already outlined(subject to change) Rin's story through the first season of the main storyline. Finally I've added a story image so let's all thank ksmile1313 for the awesome artwork. Okay I've rambled enough, time for the real reason you're here, the story.

Chapter 6

"Requip."

As Gildarts spoke that one word Rin's Sword materialized from nowhere in Gildarts's hand.

"How did you do that?" Shouted Rin with stars in his eyes, clearly impressed.

Gildarts relaxed after having unconsciously tensed up to perform Requip. "This is called Requip Magic. I'm honestly not all that skilled with this magic. I certainly couldn't competently use it in a fight." He paused to reach down and pick up a stick which he promptly tossed to Rin. "But I know the spell well enough to convey the basics to you."

"That's really cool but why do I need to learn that to get my sword back?" Rin protested.

Gildarts pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand before letting it fall and looked toward the impetuous youth in front of him. "Because you're dangerous" Gildarts smirked. "You see this?" Gildarts held out his hand. His palm was charred an severely burned. "Seems to me most of your Hellfire Magic is sealed away that sword, and for a pretty good reason. What if you loose control again or someone steals your sword? How many innocent people will get caught in your flames if you lost control with no way to seal away the bulk of your fire magic? What if I'm not there to knock your ass out?"

"You still trying to rename my magic old man?" Scoffed Rin.

"Now that I think about it learning Requip won't be enough. This sword might seal most of your weird magic but you still have quite a bit of power without it, and even that much power is too dangerous if you don't remember how to control it." Said Gildarts ignoring Rin.

"How am I supposed to learn control?" Rin asked.

"Hmm, I saw you grab a few candles last night you can use that to practice tonight once we're away from the forest and anything else you can burn down." Gildarts said chuckling as he turned and began the long trek toward Clover Town.

Rin paused for a moment contemplating what Gildarts had told him before jogging to catch up.

"So kid, we've talked about the sword and your flames but what about the Gravity magic you learned from that lacrima?" Gildarts cast a glance back to Rin.

"Well, I'm not sure. I feel all of the knowledge in my head but I still haven't tried using it." Said Rin

At that moment Gildarts felt the string of the sword's sheath digging into his shoulders, the sound of nearby branches snapping, and he felt quite a bit heavier too. He looked back to see Rin about four meters behind him, crouched slightly with his hair laying flat to his skull clearly due to increased gravity. Rin didn't seem to be straining, more like he was surprised by his increase in weight. 'This kid really is unusual. This has to be nearly three times normal gravity. Any normal person would be flat on the ground right now. Still this magic really does seem useless.' He thought before checking on Rin. "Hey kid. You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I was just getting a feel for this Magic." Said Rin while taking a careful step to test his footing under the increased gravity.

"Hmm, do you think you can control the intensity?"inquired Gildarts.

"I'm not sure. I think so."Rin carefully decreased the output of his magical energy. He was surprised, not only because the lacrima gave him an understanding of how to use magic, but it felt nothing like when he used his fire. It was almost like his fire used an entirely different energy. He would certainly spend time contemplating that observation later.

"Try holding it there. That feels like about double normal gravity." Gildarts stated as he held his hand out feeling the weight of his limb. "Now see if you can constrict the area of effect to about one meter." He said.

Rin did as told with little difficulty. "There. How's that?" Rin asked.

Gildarts walked towards Rin until they were only about a meter apart. He then reached his hand out into Rin's personal space and then smirked. "Heh. Either you're a good student or that lacrima is a good teacher. I'm inclined to think it's the latter." Gildarts teased

"Whatever."Rin scoffed. "What now?"

"Try maintaining it as long as you can."Said Gildarts as he turned and once again began walking.

"What! Why?"Rin protested.

"Think of it as training. A mage should should know his magic like the back of his hand. Besides it's at least a days walk out of the forest. So, you might as well get a good workout in." Said Gildarts as he kept walking.

Rin hurried, or at least attempted to hurry after Gildarts but he quickly learned that there's more to moving around in higher gravity than being strong enough. He was having a hard time keeping his balance, especially with the now twice as heavy sack slung over his shoulder. After nearly Three hours of stumbling and nearly falling down Rin seemed to have found his equilibrium and was now walking in a somewhat normal manner.

'Definitely not a fast learner' Gildarts thought amusedly to himself. "How ya doing back there kid?" He asked.

"I'm fine ...old man." Said Rin showing slight signs on fatigue.

"Alright then. Let's pick up the pace a little." Said Gildarts smiling brightly as he turned from the forest path and began walking briskly while using his Crush Magic to clear a path. "The fasted way to Clover Town is a straight line. Keep up if you can."

As much as Rin wanted to protest, that ' _if you can'_ comment was clearly a challenge and Rin wasn't about to loose a challenge. Petty as that might be. So he chased after Gildarts as quickly as his precarious balance and heavy body would allow. Then just as he began to close the distance all hell broke loose and trees that had been half destroyed by Gildarts' magic began falling under the influence of Rin's increased gravity. Rin spent the next eight hours dodging and rolling for his life while trying to keep up as Gildarts progressed from a brisk walk to a jog.

Just as Rin thought he couldn't take anymore Gildarts stopped and Rin ran right into him. Rin looked up and noticed they where at the edge of a large clearing with the base of a mountain range to his right. Utterly exhausted he dropped to the ground and lay prone on his back

"Congratulations we just cleared the Waas forest in record time. I think that deserves a break." Said Gildarts as he looked back to Rin with an ominous grin."How are you feeling kid?" He said as he stepped towards Rin's prone form. He noticed Rin was still maintaining his gravity spell as he stepped closer. 'Hmm, he is clearly exhausted but it appears he is only physically exhausted. I figured he had large stores of magic but to maintain a spell that requires constant magical exertion this long is impressive.' He thought.

"I'm...fine! I just need..to catch my...breath." Rin wheezed.

"Good so how much energy do you feel like you have left?" Gildarts asked

"I'm exhausted; what do you think!" Shouted Rin as he leveled a glare at Gildarts.

Laughing, Gildarts clarified. " I'm talking about your magic. Do you think you have enough to practice the requip spell?"

"Actually I don't feel like I've used a enough of my magical energy to even notice." Said Rin clearly missing the implications of what he had said.

Gildarts face didn't change but beneath the surface of his unchanged expression was a mind desperately trying to make sense of what he had heard. 'What? He has so much magical energy that he doesn't even notice the amount of energy used to cast a complex spell like gravity manipulation for eight hours straight? How is that possible? He must be messing with me. Even I would have burned through a noticeable amount of my energy stores after using a spell like that for prolonged periods of time. Is this kid made of magic?'

"HEY! Old man! Are you even listening?" Yelled Rin

"Sorry. My mind was elsewhere." Apologized Gildarts while stroking his chin, now interrupted from his inner thoughts. "Anyways, let me go over the basics of requip with you."

Gildarts carefully showed Rin the basics of the spell and instructed Rin to practice until sunset. After he finished finished giving Rin all the pointers he knew on requip he decided to take a nap until dark so he could stand watch tonight. He sat his belongings along with Rin's sword beside a rock and sat down with his back against the rock so that he was facing the forest while Rin continued to train a little farther into the clearing. It was just a feeling but he felt Anna Maul wasn't the end of this. 'I think Rin or perhaps the lacrima are connected to Anna somehow. Either way, Porlyusica definitely needs to check this kid out. That's enough thinking for now. I won't get any answers just worrying about it. I should get some sleep before nightfall.' With that last thought Gildarts closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

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Back in the ruins of Pine village a gaunt man with pitch black eyes and an undernourished appearance stepped from a shadow on the edge the ruins. He was a pale man wearing a long overcoat, several sizes too large, that extended to his ankles and his hair was slicked back revealing a pair of sunken weary eyes. In his hand he held an umbrella which was currently filling the role of a walking stick. As he exited the shadow he opened the umbrella and positioned it over his head.

The gaunt man took stock of his surroundings. The first thing that caught attention was smoke rising from the edge of town. The man walked towards the source of the smoke in hopes of finding the one who ended Anna Maul or better yet find the prize she was supposed to obtain. As he reached the source of the smoke he was slightly surprised. It was in fact a burned down house which was no surprise. What really surprised him was how the house was burned.

"This is odd. Some of the ground was apparently so hot that it became a steaming pile of molten slag and glass; yet the epicenter appears as though it wasn't even exposed to any heat." He thought aloud. "This was definitely no normal house fire. Perhaps one of the villagers was a decent fire mage. I haven't heard of any accomplished fire mages from Fairy Tail, a new member perhaps." He supposed as he crouched down to take a closer look at the ground.

Satisfied that there was nothing else of interest he stood and looked around again spotting what appeared to be a hole punched in a straight line through several buildings leading south. "Oh this handiwork I'm familiar with, if only by reputation. Yes, I think this is the Crush magic of Gildarts Clive. It seems Anna Maul really did run into an S-class mage from Fairy Tail. I'd better be careful with this one. Regardless I won't be making any moves until night when I hold the advantage." Monologed the gaunt man as he followed the path to the cemetery; from there he followed a set of tracks that led to an impromptu campsite and then to Gildarts' Crush made trail out of the village. Once he reached the forest canopy he closed the umbrella and used the shadows of the forest to travel at great speed towards his quarry.

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Rin had been practicing the Requip technique diligently for hours in spite of his extreme fatigue. In his hand was a stick he was unsuccessfully trying to make disappear and at his feet was his canvas bag with the purple lacrima sticking out the top of the open bag. He pushed himself to his absolute limit, partly because he thought Requip was really cool but mostly because he was determined to get his sword back. After having lost everything, his family and the majority of his memories included, that sword had become a precious piece of his past and he'd be damned if he lost anything else he cared about. Rin continued to persevere, even as the sunlight began to grow dim. Just as it seemed he wouldn't be able to do it, the stick shimmered and disappeared. With a look of pure satisfaction Rin collapsed into the grass. The Gravity spell he had subconsciously maintained the entire day disbursing as Rin let sleep take him.

Gildarts smirked ever so slightly feeling a little proud of his informal student. 'I probably should have told the little idiot to cancel out his gravity magic before trying to use another spell. Would have been a lot easier for him.' Thought Gildarts as he watched the forest through a barely opened eye. Gildarts had actually had been awake nearly an hour now watching a figure hidden among the trees while feigning sleep.

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'That old guy must be none other than Gildarts Clive of Fairy Tail. Ohh! It looks like he has an adorable young student too and he's got a tail! I've never caught a child with a tail before! Ohh, the ancient lacrima!' Observed the sickly man as he licked his lip in a most disturbing manner. 'It must be my lucky night. Still I should wait a while longer for sun to go down.' Thought the creepy gaunt man as he hungrily eyed his quarry from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

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Just as the sun set over the peak of the Hakobe mountain range a dark shadow began moving unnaturally towards Rin's prone form. Gildarts surmised that whoever had been watching them was making its move. However he would not be able to reach Rin before this shadow did. Thinking quickly he realized that whoever was about to attack Rin had waited until the exact moment the sun set for a reason. The attackers magic possibly held a weakness to light. On little more than a hunch Gildarts quickly drew Rin's sword hoping it would buy him the time he needed to intercept Rin's attacker. At that very moment, as the shadow was within centimeters of the sleeping Rin, blue flames erupted from his body. The flames coming from Rin's body caused the shadow to steam and evaporate.

"I must say. This is the first time I've been rebuked by an unconscious child. That certainly is an interesting Magic. It seems the more beautiful the rose, the sharper the thorns. Am I correct to assume that sword you drew somehow conjured those delightful azure flames?" Said a mysterious figure at the edge of the tree line before turning his attention towards Gildarts. He gave a small gentlemanly bow and continued. "You may call me Grim Noire. Why don't you let me have the lacrima and that cute young boy and I will let you live."

Gildarts turned to face the figure sword in hand. "Quite the glaring weakness. You must have learned your magic from an one of those old lacrima." Gildarts dropped the sword and sheath and moved to a fighting stance. "You know, there are more adaptive variants of shadow magic; in fact most shadow manipulation can stand up to a little light source like that" Gildarts taunted.

"You are mistaken. This magic was indeed gifted from an ancient lacrima but many ancient magics and by extension many memory lacrima from before the time of Zeref operated on what I like to call the _tradeoff principle._ For instance my shadow may be lacking in some defenses but has far greater utility than any other variant of shadow magic." Grim laughed as he began pacing towards Gildarts. "The ancient memory lacrima where not all tools for learning and research as the scholars and those fools in the magic council would have you believe. Many of them were created and fully developed by ancient mage kings to fill specific roles in war. Namely mass producing expendable mage fodder. Imagine, to power to create a mage army from any group of peasants with even the slightest potential almost instantaneously giving them proficiency in a magic discipline. The gravity magic for example bypasses the normal limitations of a mage and can utilize all of the ethernano in a mages body, second origin not required. Image, a mass produced army of suicide mages that can each wipe out cities with massive multi-kilometer area of effect surges in gravity. The perfect vanguard for softening up an enemy force. Delightful, don't you think?" His voice remained calm but a sick excitement could be seen in his eyes.

'I'm lucky. Any apparent intelligence this fool has is overshadowed by pride and arrogance. Maybe I can use that against him.' He thought.

"I'm not even going to bother pointing out how creepy you sound. Why don't you get straight to the point and skip the monologuing like a good villain." Gildarts taunted with a smirk.

"Gladly" responded Grim as he charged headlong towards Gildarts. Gildarts responded in kind but just as Gildarts was within striking distance Grim quite literally fell into the shadow cast from The rock Gildarts had been sleeping against.

Before Gildarts was able to react Grim had emerged behind him at the base of the shadow holding Rin's sword. Gildarts turned back to see Grim wearing a smile that made his skin crawl. "Time to turn off the nightlight, because adult things are about to happen." Grim said as he sheathed the sword.

Gildarts' only thought at that moment was,'Shit.'


	7. I Hate the Dark

Hey everybody tophfan here again with more words for you to read but first a few thanks to all the supporters. Girlfish- thanks for the support and spitballing ideas with me. Zeopeanut- thank you and I hope this rewards your eagerness. Neodynium-thank you hope you find this exciting. Ghostking- worry not for this is just a talented yet arrogant lackey who has the fortune of having a magic that Gildarts' magic doesn't pair well against. I'm truly sorry I have made you guys and gals wait so long. Lately I've been consumed with work and completing the paperwork for my fiancé's visa. Seriously though, I know everyone hates it when a chapter or episode ends right in the middle of a big reveal or when things start to get serious but moments like that make for great hooks. However, I made you guys wait far too long but the wait is over. I hope this next chapter brings you all much entertainment and I look forward to hearing what you all think.

 **Chapter 7**

'Shit' thought Gildarts.

The shadow that Grim had stepped out of quickly expanded and began moving as if alive. "You see. It's all over now."Grim laughed maniacly. 'I was only supposed to steal the lacrima and kill anyone who got in the way but the little tailed boy is just too irresistible. I must have him!' He thought as a tendril of his massive shadow reached out and connected to Rin's shadow.

Gildarts dashed forward at a speed that caught Grim completely off guard. Moving at full speed Gildart leapt from the ground at the edge of the living shadow and plowed his fist through Grims face with a midair straight right punch. "Oh no you don't!" Cried Gildarts. At the moment of impact Grim exploded into nearly a dozen chibi Grims and the sheathed sword flew out of his formerly singular pair of hands and landed nearly one hundred meters away, towards the center of the clearing.

Gildarts allowed himself a small grin at what he assumed was a small victory against this new foe. Meanwhile one of the little Grims stood and dusted himself off. "I'm afraid that won't work." Said the diminutive Grim as the rest of the little Grims sank into the shadows beneath them. Grim gradually returned to his original stature as the shadows danced around his feet.

"Shit. What the hell is this guy?" Gildarts muttered quietly to himself.

"I am a shadow and as a shadow one of my defining characteristics is the ability to merge with and split from any shadow, including myself." Grim declared proudly, having overheard Gildarts.

Gildarts simply glared balefully at the man before him while trying to concoct a plan. This shadow magic was the worst possible matchup for him. He needed to think fast. 'I'm confident that I'm a superior mage but Grim's magic is seemingly tailor made to counteract a good crushing. I guess I'll have to use my head if I want to beat this perverted freak.'

'Ha! I can see it all over your face. You aren't used to not being able to overpower your foes with brute force and yet you still think you can pull out a win." Grim taunted. "I hate arrogant fucks like you. So confident and sure of yourselves that you think you can plow through any opponent that crosses your path. That's the real reason I'm so forthcoming with the nature of my power. I want you to know you are outclassed regardless of what you do or how how much you know." Declared Grim while practically frothing at the mouth.

Gildarts eyes narrowed. "So I'm the arrogant one, huh?" He had a plan formed within his mind and without hesitation he put it into action. Gildarts quickly imbued his fist with his signature magic and proceeded to drive an uppercut directly into Grims chin yet instead of splitting into miniature copies of himself Grim was sent skyward and at incredible speed. (Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean.)

"Merge with that, Asshole." Said Gildarts as he watched Grim's body punch a hole in the clouds. Not allowing himself to enjoy the moment just yet Gildarts sprinted towards the sword intent on drawing it in case Grim returns soon. At the very least he would likely return before night's end.

Just as Gildarts neared to within a few strides of the sword he felt a sensation reminiscent of stepping on ones own shoelaces and came crashing down, cracking the ground beneath him as he did so. He looked back to see his foot wrapped within his own shadow. 'Damn. I can't catch a break.'

The shadow that was connected to Gildarts' foot began to writhe and expand, and from the center Grim's gaunt form breached the inky pool of darkness while a tether of shadow shot down from the sky and connected to one of the larger shadow before Gildarts. "You weren't paying attention. I am a shadow and I can reform my body as many times as I like, because it too is just an extension of my shadow. So tell me what you're thinking. Has the realization of your impotence finally set in?" Taunted Grim as he smiled an almost unnaturally wide eyed smile with his head cocked to the side.

"I see. So your magic has left you as a shadow of your former self. As for what I'm thinking...I think you talk too much." said Gildarts defiantly with a smirk.

"It doesn't matter what you think because I'm going to kill you!" Grim screamed in pure rage as he lost his composure. He immediately followed his declaration with an all out assault. The shadow that was wrapped around Gildarts' feet lifted from the ground like a massive tentacle and slammed Gildarts into the ground with enough force to create an impression of him in the ground, give him a concussion, and create a small tremor.

The massive tentacle composed of inky black shadow continued to slam Gildarts into the ground over and over again. Rin drowsily awoke in response to the seismic activity. "What the Hell is going on?" Rin yawned as his vision slowly came into focus only to see Gildarts being swung around like a rag doll by and inky black tentacle.

"Kid... grab the... sword." Gildarts said between collisions with the ground.

"Oh, no you don't!" Yelled the frenzied Grim as one shadow extended to and absorbed Rin's sword. "I've already prepared a place for you inside me!" Grim shouted as several shadows raced toward and grabbed the now sitting Rin. Once Grims Shadows had grabbed hold of Rin they began dragging him into the inky black shadow. "From the moment I first saw you I new you belonged inside me!" Screamed Grim gleefully, now sounding completely unhinged.

Rin began hyperventilating as his experiences from within the darkness of nowhere came flooding back into his mind. He cried out with a deafening scream and blue flames erupted from Rin, intent on burning away the source of his terror. A great ball of blue fire insulated and freed Rin from his would-be captor and nearby shadows began spontaneously combusting in blue fire while failing to so much as singe the grass around even though the heat coming of Rin was unmistakable.

The tentacle holding Gildarts withered and disapated, dropping him with a soft thud. Gildarts coughed up a mouth full of blood a strained to look up to see the horrifying spectacle through his blurred vision. He would have been impressed by the intensity of a fire magic that can burn something as abstract as a shadow while leaving anything the user who was in direct contact with the flames and surrounding area completely unharmed, had he not been so disturbed. The shadows currently engulfed in fire gave off the stomach turning scent of burnt hair and flesh. Grim emerged from the shadow and was writhing on the ground in agony as parts of his body seemed to loose cohesion and intermittently merge with the shadow beneath him.

In a last ditch effort to preserve his own life Grim reached out with his arm and swung it toward Rin, directing a massive shadow tentacle to rip a tree from the neighboring tree line and throw it at Rin. The tree was thrown with such speed that even Rin hellish flames were unable to completely burn away the projectile in time. The burning tree trunk plowed into Rin with enough force to shake the ground. The flames quickly dissipated and Gildarts, unable to move, looked on in horror as he watched the smoke clear.

Grim stumbled to his feet, clearly worse for the wear. His once vast shadow had constricted to to within a meter of his body and his breathing was ragged. He held out his left hand as his shadow extruded Rin's sheathed sword and he grabbed it. Grim looked upon the sword with a mix of admiration and disgust. "Damn brat. I didn't realize he could use his fire magic without this sword." Said Grim as he returned his attention to the cloud of smoke and began limping towards Rin.

Gildarts desperately tried to move to intercept Grim but he was simply too injured to stand. 'Shit. I've got to do something.'he thought.

As the smoke cleared Grim reached his objective. At his feet was Rin, bloodied and unconscious but still very much alive. "I would liked to have kept you as my new plaything but you're simply to great a threat to be taken alive." Said Grim as he reformed his right hand into an inky black sword and plunged it forward, intent on impaling Rin.

"Nooo. Rin!" Yelled Gildarts as he reached his hand out in a futile attempt to save the life of the young boy he had befriended. Much to his surprise something extraordinary occurred. A cross-shaped blast emanated from his palm and raced forward in the direction of Grim.

Grim turned his head head at the sound of the approaching blast and moved his left hand using the sheathed sword to block but it was too late. The blast struck him shearing away half his face and his left shoulder. The sheathed sword was able to absorb a great deal but the side of the sheath facing the blast finally disintegrated under the force of Gildarts' destructive magic and Grim's fate was sealed as Rin's blue flames were unleashed once more. As Grim looked down he did not see a child to stimulate his darker impulses, instead he saw a demon with long ears, fangs, and an altogether feral appearance that had come to send him to hell as he was quickly reduced to ash.

Gildarts with watched with mixed emotions as the night was briefly filled with Grim's blood curdling screams while he was being devoured by blue flames that almost seemed to vengefully lash out toward the source of their master's suffering. Once Grim had been reduced to ash the flames continued to dance around Rin's sleeping form but seemed content to remain by their master's side. Confident the danger had passed and the forest was not in danger of being burnt to the ground Gildarts closed his eyes and let sleep take him with the hope that tomorrow would be far less eventful.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Gildarts, a small shadow crept across the clearing merged into the safety of the tree line's shadow and faded into the depths of the forest.

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I felt like I needed to throw this footnote in. It always seemed strange to me when people yell the names of their techniques but I figured I'd go ahead and put the name of the technique in parentheses in case the readers where curious.

Thanks for reading and I hope to bring you more soon.


	8. Trail to Fairy Tail

Hey everyone Tophfan here ( it lives!!). I know it's been a while. No excuses worth giving. So I'm just going to pick this story back up here and hope I do a good enough job to earn my readers back. Also I want to let all my old readers know that I have revised the earlier chapters so if you've read this story before April 2019 please reread the earlier chapters. The goal so far in the story is to integrate Rin into the world of Fairy Tail and give him experiences that would adjust his personality and outlook in a way that seems natural because I didn't want to blatantly go ooc right out the gate. Without further adieu I give chapter 8 to you.

 **Chapter 8**

(Thuonk) "Owww, damnit!" Rin cried out as he quickly woke from his impromptu nap and put a hand over a lump that was forming on his head.

"Did you just hit me in the head with a rock?" Asked Rin angrily as he glared at Gildarts who was standing several meters away grinning like an asshole.

"Yep. It's already midday and we need to get moving soon and I'd like to be gone before any more people like that perverted shadow freak show up." replied Gildarts.

At the mention of the last night's assailant Rin quickly recalled the nights event and at the realization that last night wasn't just a really bad dream his blue flames expanded out several meters and Rin assumed a crouching position as a shiver went down his spine. "You could have just tapped me on the shoulder or something" Rin said sullenly.

"I've learned better than to stick my hand in that blue fire kid. But now that you mention it do you think you can put that fire out. I don't think it exactly safe to wander through a forest as a human torch. Not to mention you might scare the locals when we make it to Clover Town." Reasoned Guildarts with impeccable logic.

Rin stared at Gildarts with a blank expression and after several moments responded bluntly. "How do I do that?"

Gildarts comically sweat-dropped however his serious expression never faltered before responding "Just try to relax and quit pumping magic out." As though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Rin closed his eyes and tried relaxing to the point at which he appeared the picture of serenity then he opened his eyes and with the same blank expression as before said, " I don't think it's working."

At this Guildarts tipped over in typical anime fashion at the idea that to stop casting a spell should be so difficult while inwardly he had to admit that he had no idea how Rin's strange fire magic even worked. "Okay" Gildarts relented "lets try something you do know. Use Requip to put your sword away" he said as he tossed Rin his sword.

Rin comically caught the sword with both hands bouncing it from hand to hand. "Are you crazy!?! Do you know how dangerous tossing an open sword is?!" He yelled angrily.

"Yeah. It's about as dangerous as handing a sword to someone on fire." Guildarts retorted.

Rin grumbled a little but he ultimately held the sword out in front of himself and complied. Surprisingly after on a few minutes of concentration he succeeded in sending his Kurikara into his pocket dimensions. Much to Gildarts and Rin's surprise the blue flames immediately dispersed the moment his sword was sent to the pocket dimension.

"Did you see that? I'm getting pretty good at this!" Declared Rin, clearly pleases with himself.

Gildarts nodded in approval. "Good now you have a safe place to store your sword that only you can access and I don't need to worry about you burning the forest down. It might be a good idea for you to tuck that tail in your pants or if anyone asks tell them it's some kind of Take Over magic." he said as he turned and began walking towards the other end of the clearing. "Alright, lets get going."

Rin hurried after Gildarts and they began making their way through the forest once more. They traveled for a few hours until coming upon the wrecked caravan Gildarts had discovered a few days earlier. Rin nearly puked at the grizzly scene and inwardly Gildarts found it just as disturbing.

"Were these people killed by the same woman who killed my brother?" Rin asked as he turned his head in disgust.

"That's right. Recovering their missing shipment was actually the job that brought me out here. We will have to fix one of these wagons up and complete this delivery but first we should see to the dead." Gildarts replied.

Rin didn't say anything. Neither of them was really in the mood to talk more at that moment. So, Rin simply nodded and they went to work.

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Back, deep within the forest near the edge of the ruins of Pine Village, shockingly, a yellow eyed Grim Noir was sitting on a stump, one leg crossed over the other leg while reading a book in one hand and holding his signature umbrella in the other.

As he sat upon his makeshift reading chair a small shadow slunk from a trees' shadow, moving laboriously like a dying beast.

"I hope you haven't come empty handed." Stated Grim as he noticed the approach of the small living shadow.

The small inky black shadow ripples and from it emerged a heavily beaten and decrepit clone of Grim with pitch black eyes. "It wasn't my fault!" it tearfully cried in a weak and raspy voice. "I-I can explain!"

The Grim who sat upon a stump simply glared at his decrepit doppelgänger and said "No need." With no warning an inky black tendril shot out from his body, grabbing his weaker clone, and pulled him into his body. The gaunt Grim sitting upon the stump grinned as his cheeks grew a little fuller and his appearance became slightly less gaunt.

"Rin Huldra...This _is_ interesting." The remaining Grim mused aloud with a sickly smile creeping across his face.

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Rin and Gildarts had been silently toiling at the sight of the wrecked caravan for a couple hours and had finally finished burying the dead on the side of the forest trail in a small clearing made curtesy of Gildarts signature magic. Rin was now in the process of salvaging the wheels off of one of the wagons in order to repair the least damaged of the wagons in the caravan.

Rin was diligently working but clearly trying very hard to keep his emotions in check. "Hey old man... are guild jobs like this?"

"What do you mean" Gildarts replied as he was finished installing onto the wagon the magic siphoning sleeve and magic fueled motor he had salvaged from the car Rin had destroyed when they first met.

"I mean all the death. It seems like we're just cleaning up an evil mages mess."

Gildarts sighed "No. Not at all. Jobs like this one are the exception rather than the rule. Also, jobs involving dark mages are typically held upstairs for S-class mages, this job not withstanding."

"What's an S class mage?" Rin inquired as he locked the last wheel into place on the now repaired wagon.

"S-class mages are the top mages in a guild. As such they are allowed to take on the more dangerous jobs that are posted separately from the regular jobs. This helps keep a young over zealous mages from getting in over his head and also increases the likelihood of success on the more difficult and dangerous job as those jobs will receive our best mages." Answered Gildarts as he loaded wooden furniture from the broken wagons into the repaired wagon.

"Then that settles it! I'm going to become an S-class mage!" Stated Rin enthusiastically.

"Oh, is that so? So, tell me, what exactly is your motivation." Retorted Gildarts with a smirk.

Rin's smile fell away but his determination was still written all over his face as he justified his goal. "What happened here was terrible. I know what I've seen in the last couple days are things I've never wanted to see even though I can't I can't remember my past. But more than that I don't want other people to have to go through this. That's why if I can become an S-class then every job like this I go on is a job someone else won't have to go on... and if I'm lucky maybe sometimes I can arrive in time to save someone instead of just cleaning up a monsters mess."

Gildarts nodded in approval as he put the magic siphoning sleeve on his arm. "That's a noble goal. Far more respectable than simply adopting your late brother's aspirations. Just remember the burdens of the world were never intended to be carried on one boy's shoulders." Anyways, it looks like we're done here. If we head out now we should reach Clover Town before nightfall."

"Almost I just need a few seconds." Stated Rin as he tied grabbed a length of rope and used it to tie a small cart he had found to the back of the wagon and promptly hoped on. "Okay! I'm ready old man"

"What are you doing kid?" Said Gildarts.

"If I'm gonna become an S-class mage then I need to learn how to control my fire as soon as possible but I don't want to catch the wagon on fire so I'll sit back here." Rin said matter-of-factly while pulling a candle out of his canvas sack.

"Uh, suit yourself kid" Gildarts said, while feeding a little magic into the vehicle causing the wagon to begin moving. He smiled to himself amused by the nearly constant yet unintentional amusement Rin seemed to provide, silently thankful to have made a friend to take his mind off the horrors he had encountered the past few days.

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Deep within the Waas Forest the yellow irised Grim was strolling down the center of a forest trail, umbrella held overhead. He's was casually digesting the memories he had absorbed from his other self a few hours earlier. "Could he really still be alive? It doesn't seem possible. If he really is still alive how is it he hasn't returned to me, his master?" He thought aloud as he remembered a scene from his past.

So the unlikely pair set out for Clover Town, blue flames intermittently flashing into and out of existence behind the wagon all the way.

vvvvvvvv

Three identical Grims with pitch black eyes stood before a lone child who was worn and battered but still ready to continue the fight while two Grims hid in the shadows at the edge of the battlefield. The child was short with black hair, a dark tan, a small circle tattooed on his forehead and a lithe build. His arms were adorned with six wrist watches on each arm. He was panting heavily.

One of the Grims taunted "We're shadows grandpa. You can transfer as many years to us as you like, shadows don't grow older."

The mysterious young mage responded in kind. "For more than five hundred years, since before dragon slayer magic was first taught to mankind, I've guarded the Jewels of Nirvit. You are mistaken if you think I will be bested this day!" Chuckling to himself the time mage then said. "If I can't give you enough years to make you die then let's see if I can take enough years that you were never born!"

With everything said, the young mage crossed his arms and a large magic circle appeared above the battlefield. Then the young mage began aging rapidly. First a teenager then a young adult. At first the three Grims seemed unaffected until one by one they changed into entirely different people and rapidly began growing younger and younger.

The first Grim to change was the Grim in the center. When he changed he took the form of a young Rin Huldra with tear filled eyes. The second Grim took a little long to change and by that time Rin had been reduced to no more than four years of age.

The sight of this filled the now adult time mage with great regret as he knew he could not stop the spell on behalf of the child, to save him, with the threat of the remaining Grim still looming. So with a heavy heart he watched as the child became an infant and then ceased to exist all together. Meanwhile at one of the Grim's at the edge of the battlefield trembled as though it wanted to join the battle but as with all the black eyed Grims it could not move without his masters approval.

Tears rolled down the now geriatric time mage's face as he watched the same fate befall the second person who had formerly been a Grim.

Just as the rapidly aging time mage felt that he had no years left to spare the third and final Grim changed into another man. Feeling he had finally won the battle the ancient mage released his spell and fell to his knees and prayed aloud that the souls of the two who had just perished might forgive him for what he was forced to do. Meanwhile the man who had once been a Grim was screaming and babbling incomprehensibly, occasionally crying "the shadow is coming."

The sound of clapping came from the edge of the battlefield. The hysterical man and the time mage grew silent in response.The Grims who had been hiding outside the range of the time magic clapping there hands together in mock praise as they casually walked towards the pair.

"That was quite impressive. Too bad you didn't use that spell on the real me." Said a yellow eyed Grim as the hysterical man fell on his back desperately trying to crawl away. He didn't get far though as an inky black tendril shot out from Grim's body and impaled the man, piercing his heart. "Ancient Shadow Takeover" said Grim as the man screamed while Grim's magic shadow consumed the poor man and turned him into another Grim, albeit with solid black eyes.

All three of the Grim's turned toward the time mage in unison and said "You've had enough fun. Time for you to give us the lacrima."

Knowing his body had grown too old to reverse age his three remaining enemies into oblivion the old man did something surprising. Realizing half measures would get him nowhere he resolved to use his most powerful spell knowing the use of such a spell would be a one way ticket.

The time mage pulled a small green lacrima from his coat pocket and held it out in front of him. Seeing this as a sign of submission the yellow eyed Grim approached.

"You think you've won kid? I'm afraid you are mistaken. How about we can this a draw." Said the the ancient time mage with a grin and an unmistakable defiance in his weary eyes. Just as Grim was about to retort three magic circles appeared. The first appeared above the battlefield much larger than the one from before, measuring nearly half a kilometer across. The second appeared in front of the time mages chest, directly before his heart. And the third appeared directly above the lacrima. "Soul Paid Time Transfer" shouted the time mage with a furious roar.

Immediately the Grims realized the threat and the yellow eyed Grim and one of the black eyed Grims fled to the edge of the magic circle's reach as quickly as their shadows could carry them while the remaining Grim ran toward the time mage and attempted to rip the lacrima from the time mages surprisingly strong grip.

Suddenly, no more than fifteen seconds after the spell was invoked the air bore down upon them as if trying to crush the world itself and was filled with a mind numbing screech. At this very moment the two fleeing Grim crossed the threshold of the time Magic's area of effect.

The yellow eyed Grim turned back to look and what he saw gave him pause. The Grim that stayed behind changed back, regressed into an infant and ceased to exist in the blink of an eye while every plant and shrub of the forest in the area going out to edge of the Magic's area of effect did the same.

As suddenly as it began it ended and all that was left was was a dusty wasteland with a lone decrepit mummified corpse still holding a lacrima. 'That crazy fucker nearly got me.' thought the yellow eyed Grim as he cautiously made his way toward the center of the wasteland to claim his prize. Coming to within a few feet of the lacrima he had come to claim he noticed it was no longer glowing. Dismissing this he smiled and said "looks like I win." Grim said. Then he reached out to take the lacrima but to his astonishment it crumbled and turned to dust along with the corpse of the time mage.

vvvvvvv

"Sir, sir...Sir" A voice like his own called. Grim was roused from his time reminiscing by another Grim with blacked out voids for eyes. He turned to face his subordinate self.

"Master, I felt you requesting my presence." Said the black eyed Grim.

"Ah, yes. I have a mission for you." Said the yellow eyed Grim

"What would you have me do?" Inquired the black eyed Grim

"It seems your Rin Huldra is still alive and he has one of the lacrima the master seeks. I'd like you to find him, take the lacrima, and kill him. Do not fail me." Said the yellow eyed Grim.

The black eyed Grim's widened ever so slightly and his fists clenched tightly until they began bleeding. After a small pause the black eyed Grim responded "It will be done sir."

The yellow eyed Grim held his hand up to motion the the other One more thing. "One more thing. Rin's fire magic is far more potent than it once was and he is in the company of an S-class mage from Fairy Tail."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

About two hours before dusk Gildarts and Rin arrived in Clover town. "Hey kid we're here" yelled Gildarts.

"Really? That's great! I'm all out of candles. Can we get some more." Rin called out from behind the wagon.

"Sure kid." replied Gildarts as he brought the wagon to a stop and stepped down from the wagon. He then made his way to the back of the wagon to find Rin hopping down from his little cart. The cart was covered in burns and still smoldering. 'It's a miracle he didn't catch the wagon on fire.' he thought.

Rin noticed that Gildarts's attention was drawn to the wagon. "What? It was a bumpy ride?" Rin said, feeling self conscious.

"Right...anyway over there is the general store. Across the street over there is a magic shop.You should hurry though it looks like the General store is already closed so the magic shop will probably be closing soon too. I'll catch up with you in about an hour. I need to run a few errands and see if there are any more trains running tonight." Replied Gildarts while trying to ignore the spectacle of scorch marks, smoke, and melted wax

Gildarts climbed back onto the wagon and drove away as Rin hurried to the magic shop.

As Rin stepped into the store he was immediately struck with how unfamiliar everything was. Granted, he didn't have hardly any memories left upon which to base that assessment. "Hey young man we close in half an hour so be quick." Called an elderly voice.

"Yes ma'am." Responded Rin as he turned to see a diminutive old woman standing right next to him.

"Looking for anything in particular young man?" Asked the elderly shopkeeper.

"Um, yes ma'am. A few things. Do you sale any candles... and clothes." Said Rin

"Of course. What kind of candles?" Said the shopkeeper.

"Just something to practice my fire magic." Responded Rin

The woman stared at him long and hard and then suddenly responded "I have just the thing." She shuffled over to the counter and grabbed a smal package of rocks and three shallow metal cups. "I call these _tinder lacrima._ They last much longer than candles and they don't make a mess."

"Oh ok. How does it work?" Asked Rin

"Are you a dimwit? You see these little rocks? You light them on fire. Now for the clothes. I take it you like to use fire magic to let's get something fire retardant." Said the diminutive shopkeeper as she drug Rin toward the back of the shop and began shuffling through piles of neatly folded clothes.

She shuffled through the clothes occasionally stopping to stare at and scrutinize an article of clothing. "What brings you to clover town?" She asked curtly as she turned to face him with a stack of cargo pants in hand.

"I'm just passing through on my way to Fairy Tail. I'm hoping to join their guild."Replied Rin.

"Hmmp" she huffed. "Try this on." She said as she tossed him a pair of black cargo pants that hit him in the face and pointed toward a corner where he would have some privacy.

Rin quickly went and put the pants on and returned to the old lady. "Good. They fit you well. You know you reminded me of another dimwit I used to know. What's your name?" She said her eye twitching while staring at his tail.

"R-Rin ma'am." Rin replies shakily; oddly intimidated by the feisty old woman.

The old woman paused as though she were frozen then she spoke slowly and quietly just above a whisper "Rin Huldra?"

"Yes ma'am." Replied Rin, a little surprised she knew what he recently learned to be his full name.

The old woman's expression immediately softened as she rushed over at a speed that belied her advanced age and hugged Rin around the waist. She then released her embrace only to squeeze Rin's cheeks as she spoke. "I haven't seen you since you were shorter than me!"

She hugged him again and began speaking rapidly. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I had asked the caravans about your family and even took a trip to Pine Village when you all stopped visiting but they said they hadn't seen you all for some time and they thought that your family must have moved away. I was so mad but I'm so glad to see you're well. You've grown quite handsome. What's with the tail? Did you learn some kind of take-over magic? You know how I feel about using spells in my shop. I remember when you nearly burned my store down as a child. I've banned magic in my shop ever since. I remember how your brother would always chatter on and on about how he was going to become a famous mage and join a guild one day. And your father. I remember how he'd come in often with you two and try to sale me trinkets and baubles he dug up from old ruins claiming they were priceless artifacts. I'll never know what your mother saw in that man." She said in in a single breath

"So, tell me. How is Yukio and your father doing these days and why didn't you ever come to see your 'Gran Gran' all these years. I'm going to beat the hell out of your father when I see him." She said, leading Rin to deduce that she was a family friend from his past and that he should call her Gran Gran.

Rin's expression went from surprise to depressed immediately. "I'm sorry... Gran Gran. My Father died a long time ago and my brother recently moved back to Pine Village but he was killed when a bad wizard destroyed Pine Village about a week ago."

Rin began sobbing as he clenched his fists and blue flames briefly began dancing around his fists before he realized and then relaxed his hands and the small flames dissipated.*(Rin sniffled) "But the reason I never came to see you...something,... I don't know what, but something happened to me so now I think I have amnesia. I don't even know who you are but I see that I should since you clearly know me" Rin stated as he looked down at the floor tears rolling down his face.

The shopkeeper or Gran Gran was at a loss for words. She reached up with one hand to wipe away Rin's tears. "I'm sorry to hear that. I always assumed your father took you boys off on some half cocked adventure to go digging through new ruins. I never considered something like this could have happened."Said Gran Gran nearly moved to tears herself by the bittersweet reunion.

Gran Gran felt ashamed of herself. All this time she had been bitter at being abandoned instead of considering the possibility that something bad may have happened to Rin Yukio and their father. 'This poor boy, he has lost everything, even his memories. As much as I now feel I have lost he has certainly lost more.'

Wishing to lighten the mood Gran Gran began talking about clothes he may need just to change the subject while handing him several pairs of cargo pants and white tee shirts and a pair of shoes. "Unfortunately I don't have any fire retardant shirts but your clothes are filthy so I'll give you a few plain white shirts. They're charmed to self deodorize; perfect for if you work up a sweat." She said while Rin nodded blankly, still too upset to be amused by the strange old woman.

"Thank you Gran Gran. I'm sure this is all I need." Rin said, interrupting the elderly woman.

Gran Gran paused as if she wanted to say something but she relented and they both began walking toward the front of the store.

"So how much do I owe you for everything." Said Rin as he sat the clothing, tinder lacrima, and bowls on the counter and pulled out the back of jewels that belonged to his brother.

"Hmm...Here" she said as she reached behind the counter and handed Rin a clear spherical lacrima that was about the same size as a person's head. "Tell you what, if you promise to keep in touch an give me a call from time to time I'll let you have this as a gift." She said.

"I couldn't possibly take all of this for free." Argued Rin

"Are you saying you won't call me from time to time." Gran Gran countered feigning rejection

"No no. Of course I will keep in touch." Rin said honestly since this woman seemed to be the only person he has met that could tell him about his past.

"Good. It's settled and here's a manual in case you don't remember how a communication lacrima works.

Rin finally relented and accepted the woman's generosity.

As she placed his gifts in a bag Rin decided to ask her a question that had been gnawing at him since he heard her mention it. "Gram Gram...you mentioned my mother. Did you know her too? I-I don't remember her. What was she like?"

Gram Gram expression suddenly changed and it became apparent her smile had simply been a facade concealing a deep and utter sadness. " I suppose I should know your mother. She was my daughter,...but don't let the thought that you may have lost your memories of her trouble you. She passed away shortly after giving birth." She said while forcing herself to produce a smile.

Rin was shocked by what he heard. The implications of what this woman said left Rin at a loss for words. 'That means Gran Gran is my grandmother! This is incredible.' Thought Rin.

(Ding dong) the door chimed as someone stepped into the shop. Drawing both of there attention to Gildarts entering in through the front door.

"We're closed. Go home." Gran Gran said curtly.

"Hey old man did you finished your errands?" Said Rin. "Oh... this is Gildarts. He's a Fairy Tail mage and he's taking me to Fairy Tail.

" I know who he is. Gildarts Clive. I've seen him a few times in the weekly issue of Sorcerer Magazine. It I'm not mistaken the last article about you mentioned a great deal of property destruction." Said Gran Gran, unamused.

Gildarts laughed uncomfortably while scratching his head. "Yeah, sometimes I don't watch where I'm going." Said Gildarts, clearly embarrassed.

"I've already noticed that."Rin chimed in.

"Like you're one to talk. You destroyed my car. Cost me nearly half a million jewels." Said Gildarts with a tick mark appearing on his head.

"At least it was a cheap car." Retorted Gran Gran.

Gildarts clenched his first and calmed himself down. "Anyway Rin we need to get going if we are going to catch the last train to Magnolia" Gildarts Said then he turned to the old woman and nodded his head "thank you for taking care of Rin but I apologize if he was any trouble."he said

The old woman simply smiled and said "Nonsense Rin is welcome anytime whether the shop is opened or not." as she held a small book that turned into the journal of Rin's brother in a puff of smoke without being noticed by Rin. Gildarts raises an eyebrow in response.

Before Gildarts could question her about snatching the journal Gran Gran tapped on Rin's shoulder. "Here Rin you must have dropped this." She said while giving Rin the journal she had pilfered.

"You take care Rin and don't forget to call sometimes." She said as she bid them farewell

Gildarts was a little surprised but thanked her all the same. With their goodbyes said Rin and Gildarts departed for the train station.

"So old Gwen Dopple seemed to like you. You must be quite the charmer." Said Gildarts while elbowing Rin.

Rin glanced over towards Gildarts with an expression of slight confusion. "Who? Her name is Gwen? No she's really nice. She gave me all this stuff for free." He responded as he returned his brother's journal to his bag only to find another book in his bag. "How did this get here?" Thought Rin aloud.

Gildarts chuckled before responding "That would be Gwen's doing. She was actually a pretty famous mage when I was a child."

"What? My grandma was a famous mage?" Said Rin with stars in his eyes.

"Old hag Gwen is your grandma?!?!" Gildarts said stunned

"Yeah apparently. But you said she was a famous mage. Tell me more." Rin presses enthusiastically as they continued walking toward the train station.

"Huh..." Gildarts vocalized his surprise. "Well she was a pretty big deal when I was a kid. She was a member of Gramlush if I recall correctly. Her signature magic was Switch Magic that allowed her to instantly switch places with any other person or to switch any object she was in contact with with another object. She was regarded as one of the craftiest mages around in her day. She retired a little over thirty years ago though when I was a little kid. I guess she must have retired to start a family." Said Gildarts as the train station came into view.

"Wow that's so COOL!" Declared Rin beaming with pride as he clutched the book she had 'switched' into his bag. He determined that the first thing he was going to do after boarding the train was read Gran Gran's book cover to cover.

"ALL ABOARD, FINAL BOARDING CALL FOR THE 10:15 TO OSHIBANA!" Called a booming voice from the boarding station.

"I thought we were going to Magnolia." Said Rin.

"We are but we are passing through three major towns on the way. So we'll have plenty of time to rest up on the way." Explained Gildarts as he handed their tickets to the ticket taker and they boarded the train.

Once on board Rin and Gildarts proceeded to their cabin where Gildarts immediately plopped down on a bench and went to sleep and Rin quickly took a seat and opened the book he received from Gran Gran eager to see what was inside. To his delight it wasn't just a book but instead it was a photo album with picture upon picture of Rin, Yukio, Gran Gran, a man who he thought must be his Dad, and several older pictures of a beautiful woman who appeared to be pregnant. To Rin these weren't just pictures but precious substitutes for the memories he no longer had. So as the train started moving Rin gazed at these photos for hours on end until fatigue finally took hold and sleep took him on the trail to Fairy Tail.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Back at the train station a shadow that did not belong silently watched as the train departed. "I'll see you soon Rin"


	9. The Devil Meets The Demon

Hey guys. I'm back again. I'm hopeful this chapter receives a good reception. I know some people have been wondering where Rin will finally get to Fairy Tail. Well the wait is over. I really hope everyone likes Rin's reception. Without further adieu I have a new chapter for you. I'm going to try to be careful but I will need to refamiliarize myself with the lore an timeline to avoid any really big mistakes.

 **Chapter 9**

 **May 2nd X778**

It was early in the morning when the train carrying Rin and Gildarts pulled into the Magnolia train station."Wake up kid we're here." Said Gildarts as he nudged a sleeping Rin with his foot.

"But we've got one hundred eggs" Responded the sleeping Rin.

"What the heck are you dreaming about. ...Wake up!" Replied Gildarts as he thumped the heavy sleeper on the head.

Rin rose groggily with a lump on his forehead. " What was that for?" Rin growled as he nursed his forehead.

"We're here. It's time to meet Fairy Tail. So hurry before the train departs again." Said Gildarts as he opened the door to their cabin.

Rin immediately perked up at the news and he hurriedly gathered his belongings and followed Gildarts out of the train station. "I can't wait to meet everyone. I hope they let me join the guild." He said excitedly as he followed.

"Hold your horses. First I want us to go by Porlyusica's hut. She lives on the eastern edge of town." Said Gildarts.

"Who's Poor Lucy Cat?" Said Rin, a bit confused.

"Porlyusica. She used to be a member of Fairy Tail when I was a kid but now she's a hermit. I guess you could say she's like a doctor." Said Gildarts trying not to laugh at Rin's mispronunciation.

"Why do we need to see her?" Asked Rin while scratching his head.

"Because you fell from the fucking sky kid. We should at least make sure you don't have any internal injuries. Any more questions?" Gildarts said a bit impatiently.

"Oh, I feel fine but I guess that makes sense. Alright I guess I can get a checkup but no shots. Okay?" Said Rin seriously

"Sure kid no problem" Replied Gildarts amusedly.

The duo continued on their way passed the edge of town arrive in a picturesque forest with massive trees all around. Not long after Gildarts came to a stop. Rin stoped behind him with an eyebrow cocked.

"Hey Old Man, are you messing with me?" Rin deadpanned.

"Nope. In fact we're here. See that tree? Look closer." Replied Gildarts with a smirk while point towards the tree right in front of them.

Rin stared skeptically until he began noticing several things out of place. First he noticed what appeared to be small windows on the trunk of the tree. Second he noticed a large door and from that he noticed a stone path leading from said door directly down to when he was standing. "Wow! It's literally a treehouse!" Said Rin now excited to see inside.

They duo approached the odd home and just as Guildarts was about to knock on the door it opened. On the other side was a tall slender pink haired woman with an incredibly bored and uncaring expression opened the door. "What do you want?" Said the woman

Gildarts waved his hands in front of his body in a disarming manner. "Porylusica! Long time no see." Said Gildarts as he stepped behind Rin.

Porylusica raised an eyebrow and repeated herself. "What do you want?"

Gildarts smiled with his eyes squinted shut and began. "My little buddy here fell out of the sky from high enough up to leave a crater and seems to have amnesia. I was hoping you could give him a checkup."

Porylusica held a disdainful gaze before turning her attention to Rin. Upon gaining a visual countenance of the boy both of her eye brows raised in intrigue. "You aren't human are you? Overuse of a Devil Slayer Magic perhaps? Unlikely, the energy is too well integrated." She said now eager to examine the boy.

Gildarts smirked and responded "Oh that. I think that's related to his fire magic. Go on kid show her your sword."

Rin looked to Gildarts and briefly hesitated before doing as told. He held his hand out and focused intently and there was a minor spike in gravity do to his inexperience in controlling his powers before with a flash Rin's sword materialized and with it his ears grew longer his teeth grew sharper and the blue flames coated his body.

Porylusica analzyed the flames with a cold calculating eye. After a few moments her eyes narrowed and without warning she pulled a vial filled with a fine white powdery substance out of her cloak and flung the contents in Rin's face.

"Was that necessary?" Gildarts said flatly.

"I surmised based on your body language that the fire is quite dangerous but it isn't currently burning anything so it is likely linked to his will and emotional state. So I used special herbs to put him in a dreamless sleep to keep him like that. Now, shut up and put him on the table." Porylusica responded curtly.

Gildarts hesitated before answering. "You're kidding right? I really don't want to get burnt."

Porylusica rolled her eyes. "Look at the floor around the boy and take note that we are in a tree. Tell me, is anything aside from that boy on fire? Now pick him up and quit dawdling."

Gildarts cautiously did as instructed and was surprised that the fire didn't burn.

Porylusica began her examination and after a couple hours of prodding and poking the child she spoke to Gildarts. "He seems perfectly healthy, incredibly bizarre but healthy. What exactly were you hoping to find?" She said as she lifted and carefully inspected the sword.

"The kid fell from the heavens with enough force to create an impact crater suffering only a few broken bones and within 24 hours was completely healed without the use of any healing magic as far as I could tell. That's not normal. Hell, without someone seriously powerful magical abilities I'd say it isn't even human." Said Gildarts with his arms crossed.

"Let's start with you telling me everything you know about this child." Said Porylusica as she sat on a stool next to Rin and crossed her legs.

Gildarts nodded and took a seat across from her. He then told her everything he had learned about the boy. "Like I said before I first met him when he fell from the sky. The first time his fire far too hot to approach him despite him being unconscious."

Porylusica interrupted. "Yes that makes sense, especially if he were awake before he hit the ground. He was likely in a very emotional state prior to his hard landing and his fire was likely defending him due to his weakened state. Continue."

"He also seems to have a pretty bad case of amnesia and his last memory seems to be of some all consuming darkness. Maybe he just hit his head a little too hard when he made his crash landing." Said Gildarts.

"No. I think it's a bit more complicated than that but continue telling me about this boy and will I address his amnesia later." Said Porylusica.

Gildarts continued "Right. Well, I found a sword and sheath near him so I sheathed the sword and the fire went away but I learned later that he can still call upon the fire without unsheathing the sword. Is it possible the sword is the source of his magic?"

Porylusica responded bluntly without hesitation. "No, I don't think so. While it does seem to hold a great deal of his power the sword is seems to be a regulator of sorts. However, I'd caution him against overusing the sword. If the sword were broken all that power being unleashed could kill him if I'm right."

Gildarts nodded in understanding before continuing. "I should also mention my Crush Magic had almost no effect on his magic. Did your examination tell you anything about that?"

Porylusica smirked like a gambler about to show her opponent a royal flush. "Yes. Like I said the kid is bizarre. The first thing I noticed was that almost half of his body is devoid of ethernano. You see outside of your containers, or first and second origins, there should still be trace amounts of ethernano throughout the body. My first instinct was anti ethernano tumors but that would mean he had literally thousands of ethernano tumor spread across his entire body and there is absolutely no way he could be alive. Upon closer examination I determined this portion was devoid of ethernano because it is saturated with with another energy that seems to push ethernano away in the areas it accumulates. This 'Second Magic' is very similar to ethernano but instead of coming from the atmosphere it seems to be directly produced by the particles in the ethernano free zones throughout his body. These particles are identical in almost every single way to Demon Particles except for their ability to produce this strange magic energy. It was through observing these special demon particles that I was able to determine the that sword doesn't produce his fire magic but regulates and helps channel it. I also assume this demonic energy of his has a lot to do with his unnatural strength and rapid healing. As for why his fire is mostly immune to your magic I should think that self explanatory. His fire magic is different enough from normal magic that it is even immune to magic sealing stones." She said while turning her head and gazing at the blue flames with a mix of appreciation and curiosity as she set a grey palm sized stone on the boys chest that did nothing to deter the flames.

Gildarts was listening intently. Out of curiosity he asked Porylusica a question. "Do you think it's some form of Devil Slayer Magic or Satan Soul takeover?"

Porylusica frowned. "No. It's hard to tell but as strange as it sounds I think he is actually part demon although it appears to have been dormant until recently based on how these demon particles are interacting with the neighboring cells. Now quit interrupting. My second major finding was that the rest of this boy body was so heavily laden with ethernano that I'm convinced he is partially composed of magic. It is as though a powerful spell nearly removed this child from existence but magic itself saved him. That spell is likely also responsible for his memory loss. I say that because his head has by far the highest concentration of ethernano. ... Whatever happened it must have been a truly hellish experience. This is just speculation at this point but it is possible the trauma that nearly destroyed him may have triggered the awakening of this child's strange demonic heritage since both the activation of these demon particles and the ethernano saturation seem to have occurred at about the same time." She finished with a look of concern

Gildarts was shocked. "How much ethernano are we talking?" He asked unsure what answer he might receive.

Porylusica face took on a serious expression as she turned her head to lock eyes with Gildarts. "As you likely already know a mages body generally has two containers. A primary area where magic energy gathers and a lesser known area known as the second origin. This child doesn't have those containers because he is a container." She said with an inflection that brought to bear the gravity of her statement.

Gildarts eyes widened. "What exactly are you saying?" He said slowly.

Porylusica cut her eyes impatiently. "I'm saying if he were to ever reach his full potential he'd have the power to stand toe to toe with all of the Ten Wizard Saints at once. That is assuming that one person's body could even handle the strain of that kind of power." She said somewhat somewhat unsure of her own assessment.

Rin began to stir, catching Porylusica off gaurd. "He should've been out half the day. What an interesting child. I think I half way like this boy." Said Porylusica.

"That's surprising. I thought you hate everyone." Said Gildarts as he watched Rin sit up and blink his eyes in confusion.

"Nonsense. I only hate humans."Said Porylusica dryly. As Rin looked back and forth toward the bickering adults.

"You do know you're human." Replied Gildarts before Rin cut the argument short.

"Hey! Why the hell did this old woman knock me out?" Demanded Rin angrily.

Gildarts turned to Rin and answered bluntly. "She didn't want you burning her house..um tree down obviously. Good news is you're in good health."

Rin was clearly not amused. "Don't do that again!" He said as his blue flames flared upward.

"Take that fire outside or I will knock you both out!" Demanded Porylusica while shaking a broom at Rin.

Both Gildarts and Rin immediately complied and rushed out the door comically intimidated by the old woman.

Rin followed closely behind Gildarts prepared to complain more but was cut off by Gildart's abrupt halt.

Gildarts stood motionless and tightened his fists as though preparing for battle. "You've been following us since Clover Town care to show yourself." He said.

As though on command Grim Noir materialized from one of the many shadows. His pitch black eyes sending shivers down Rins' spine. Rin readied his sword shakily while Gildarts stood his ground, not budging an inch.

"Impressive. I thought I was concealing my presence quite well." Said Grim

"I thought we killed you. That's fine I don't mind dealing with you a second time."Said Gildarts.

"I assure you we have never fought and I'm not so foolish as to fight a strong opponent in broad daylight." Said Grim mysteriously. "You've grown well Rin. I had my doubts that you were in fact Rin but after seeing you and hearing the pink haired witch up there I am convinced. It's good to see you again, and I come bearing good news. You don't need to worry about the Master's 'darkness' consuming you agian. My master gave me specific instructions to kill you instead." Grim said.

The very instant Grim finished his sentence Gildarts charged forward shattering the ground and toppling trees with a powerful application of his signature magic but Grim was too fast and simply sunk into a shadow and out of harms reach. "Until next time." Said the voice of Grim from seemingly nowhere as his presence faded deeper into the shadows until it seemed he had left.

Gildarts took a deep and measured breath to calm himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to catch Grim so he would continue to try watching out for Rin as best he could until this assassin had been dealt with. He looked back towards Rin to check on him and address the intense heat he felt building up. "Are you okay kid?" He said.

Rin was scared and unable to hear Gildarts in his current state. That much was obvious with his trembling elf-like ears and shaking sword. But it wasn't just fear. There was a feral look in Rin's eyes and his flames where nearly as intense as the day he learned his brother's fate. He was like a beast backed into a corner knowing it could not run away. He was ready to fight.

"Hey kid!" Gildarts yelled triggering Rin to snap to his senses. "Come on, if we hurry we might make it to Fairy Tail by noon." Gildarts continued as he began walking briskly west back the direction they came from.

Gildarts noticed Rin was still brooding so he decided to say something to console the boy. "Relax kid. Not even that black eyed psycho would be foolish enough to attack a guild hall full of wizards." He said as they neared the edge of town.

Rin was still brooding but he was listening. So after some consideration Gildarts decided to regale Rin with what he had learned from Porylusica and Rin seemed eager to learn of himself even if it wasn't all what one might consider good news he was appreciative all the same. Rin was actually so enthralled with learning more about himself that he didn't even bat an eye at Gildarts's bad habit of using his magic to absentmindedly walk through the occasional building.

Gildarts occasionally looked back to Rin while he told him about what Porylusica said and noticed at some point Rin had decided to tuck his tail into his pants and he looked a bit depressed... or angry, he wasn't sure which. 'Perhaps learning that he was indeed part demon was a little more than he was ready to hear. I really can't blame him.' Gildarts thought.

After walking for some time they finally came to a stop outside of a large tavern. "Welcome to the Fairy Tail guild hall." Said Gildarts with pride in his voice.

Outside, near a tree in the side yard, two boys trying to fight each other. They were perhaps ten or eleven year old each with pink hair and dark blue hair respectively, and there was a young girl with red hair who seemed to be a couple years older holding them apart.

"Stop that, both of you." Said the red headed girl as she held them apart.

"You're annoying!" Said the child with dark blue hair to the girl.

"In that case, you fight u..." the pink haired child trailed off as he noticed his audience.

"Gildarts your back! Are you ready to except my challenge?" Shouted the pink haired child exuberantly.

Gildarts smirked at the boy and turned back to look at Rin who still had a sour look on his face. 'Darn I didn't want to ruin the kids day. Hmm maybe a friendly sparing match will get his mind off of his troubles' thought Gildarts somewhat mischievously. "Tell you what Natsu. If you can beat Rin here I will accept your challenge." He taunted playfully while gesturing toward Rin.

"Just use your gravity. Your fire might not work well against him." Gildarts whispered to Rin.

The overeager Natsu pointed at Rin and declared his challenge. "I hope you're ready to face the son of a dragon!" He said before charging like a wild beast.

Startled by the younger child, Rin held up his hand disarmingly and with a thought he made the gravity double around him just past where the Natsu was, which triggered him to fall flat on his face mid charge. Surprisingly he was undeterred and with great effort rose to his feet and tried charging again. Rin inwardly panicked and doubled the gravity again causing the Natsu to come crashing down once more. At this point even Rin was feeling heavy at four times his normal weight while Gildarts had already gone into the tavern entrance where a crowd was pouring out to watch. It seemed a few of them where taking bets on who would win.

"Come on Natsu. Is that all you've got?" Yelled one of the spectators with a large brown pompadour style haircut and sunglasses.

"Good job flame brain. You can't even touch him." Said the child Natsu had been fighting. Oddly enough it seemed that child had stripped naked for whatever reason.

"Shut up Gray!" Yelled Natsu to the child he had been fighting.

Meanwhile, the red haired girl knocked Gray out with a quick chop to the neck. "I told you both not to fight each other." She said as she turned her attention to the fight between Rin and Natsu.

Natsu struggled to get off the ground but only managed to raise his body enough to prop himself up on his elbows. Still unwilling to give up Natsu did something Rin did not expect. He positioned both of his hands in front of his mouth as though he were clasping an invisible flute and blew fire out of his mouth (Fire Dragon Roar). A gout a fire flew from Natsu's mouth and and hit Rin dead-on. As a result Rin was covered in a blazing ball of dark red fire.

To Natsu's surprise, despite landing a direct hit, the gravity magic the older boy was casting still seemed to be in full effect. He directed his attention to the older child still engulfed in fire and was stunned by what he saw.

The blazing red fire concealing Rin began to swirl around its target. Little by little the fire was consumed by a blue fire that seemed to grow from within until Natsu's red fire had been completely consumed. Next the blue fire also subsided to reveal an unharmed Rin protected by a coating of blue fire that persisted.

"Whoa this kid uses gravity magic and fire magic. I think Natsu might be bitting off more than he can chew." Said a man with spiked dark blue hair and a little facial stubble while elbowing the man with a pompadour.

Natsu's breathing was becoming ragged at this point. The intense gravity was beginning to make his vision grow dark as his heart struggled to pump blood to his raised head. Concerned for the child Rin reduced the size of the gravitational field but kept it active just in case Natsu was stubborn enough to keep fighting.

As the gravitational field retracted Natsu sprung to his feet. In keeping with the rash reputation he had cultivated at Fairy Tail he immediately charged forward misinterpreting the drop in gravity as his chance. At least he started to charge forward until the red haired girl grabbed him by the scarf wrapped around his neck, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Let go Erza! I'll kick your butt when I'm through with this guy." Shouted Natsu.

"No. You've already lost. You should know your limits." Erza said sternly before yanking Natsu back harshly and punching him in the stomach causing him to comically pass out.

"I'm impressed. But I would like to know how you fair against me. I look after those two and I won't let you hurt them." Erza said seriously.

Rin blinked blankly. "Umm, you knocked them both out." He deadpanned while backing up a bit. Clearly confused.

"Spare me the details." Said Erza as she Requiped not just a weapon but her amor as well. In a flash of light she was wearing an odd set of armor that appeared to be fashioned out of feathers and hard leather plates and into her hands two silver daggers with feathers engraved on the blade which prompted Rin to re-extend his gravitational field.

"This is my featherweight armor. It is a one of a kind armor that reduces the users weight by more than half and these daggers are essentially weightless which grants near peerless speed. However, in this case it serves the purpose of mitigating your gravity Magic." Erza said fulfilling the trope of the adversary explaining their power.

"Erza gonna fight next? I've got 10,000 jewels on Erza" Said the man with spikey dark blue hair.

"Alright Macao, I'll take that bet." Said the man with the pompadour.

Rin was beginning to feel even more worried than he had been before. "Oh crap! What am I going to do now?' He thought. Erza didn't give him much time to think as she immediately charged forward and lunged at him with a dagger.

Rin leaned back just in time to dodge the dagger but fell to the ground, hitting the ground with enough force that Erza felt the vibrations through her feet. This elicited a slight look of surprise from her as Rin quickly rolled a few meters and jumped to his feet.

Panicked and without any good ideas Rin simply did the first thing that came to mind and double the gravity again, increasing the total gravity to around eight times normal gravity. In response Rin's veins bulged and his knees began shaking, making it obvious that his gravity magic was effecting him as well, but he stood firm.

Erza dropped to one knee but kept her eyes locked on Rin. 'Incredible, even with my weight cut to less than half, this gravity is almost too heavy. Apparently he is subjected to the same gravity he exerts on his surroundings yet he can still stand as well as me. His physical strength may be greater than my own.' Erza thought. She stood up and assumed a fighting stance and she charged forward, still surprisingly quick despite the burden of the intense gravity.

Rin was surprised to say the least. He knew he couldn't afford to increase the gravity further since he could barely move now. "Requip" Rin said in a last ditch effort to defend him self. A flash of light appeared over Rin's hand and from it materialized... a stick.

Erza was stunned hearing that Rin was using the same magic as her but upon seeing a stick materialize in his hand she tripped and hit the ground with more than enough force to shock her out of her surprise.

The entire crowd immediately began laughing heartily at the spectacle.

"No Erza! Get up or I'll have to shell out 10,000 jewels to Wakaba!" Yelled Macao. Apparently referring to the man with a pompadour.

"Oh crap! I forgot I left that there." Rin chastised himself before tossing the stick aside and attempting to Requip a second time.

"Requip" Said Rin this time confident since the Kurikara was the only other item in the pocket dimension. What happened next stunned everyone into silence.

Rin's flames flared out several meters in every direction. His ears grew long and pointed. A devilish tail shot out from his pants. His fingernails grew long and pointed like claws. Two small horns made of blue fire formed over his forehead. Finally his teeth grew sharper and his face took on a feral appearance.

Erza was at loss for words. This boy was closing the gap between his apparent inexperience and her superior skill with raw power.

"Holy shit. He's using Requip and some kind of Take Over magic too!" Yelled Macao.

"It feels a lot like my sister's magic." Commented a boy with white hair and business clothes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

A few minutes earlier in the guild hall a girl who appeared to be about thirteen years old with blue eyes, white hair, a revealing black outfit and a bad attitude was walking toward the job board when Gildarts brushed past her.

"Oh pardon me young lady." Said Gildarts.

"You better watch it old man or I'll rearrange your face next time I see you." Said the mean little girl.

"Now now Mira. That's no way to greet your senior." Said Makarov as he sat cross legged on the bar.

"Who's this little ball of hate?" Asked Gildarts.

"That's Mirajane Strauss. She and her siblings joined the guild a month or so back. You'd know some of your newer guildmates if you spent more time around here. Anyway how did the job go?" Said Makarov.

"I got it done. I dropped off the fancy furniture with a royal courier in Clover and took a train back here." Gildarts said as he looked at the ground."

"You looked troubled." Said Makarov.

A commotion began brewing in front of the guild hall and everyone started pouring out to see what was going on. Mirajane began to walk out with her siblings but changed her mind and elected to drop behind the counter and listen in on the conversation.

"You were right you know. That job should have been posted on the second floor. Pine Village it...it was eradicated. Everyone was murdered and ripped to shreds. The caravans too. From this whole job there was only one surviving child but I wouldn't call him fortunate. According to Porylusica he had been hit with some kind of spell that nearly destroyed him and he has lost most of his memories. The hell this child went through is... I really don't know what to say." Said Gildarts as he shook his head and downed a mug of ale sitting near him.

"It certainly sounds like it has been a trying ordeal. Did you run into any other trouble." Said Makarov no longer his jovial self sensing the seriousness of what Gildarts had to say.

"Yeah. I ran into two dark mages, Anna Maul and Grim Nior. I was forced to put Anna Maul down for good and later we were attacked by Grim Noir. I can honestly tell you I'm surprised to still be living after facing that freak." Gildarts said with a sigh.

Makarov stared at Gildarts wide eyed with a serious expression. "Did you say Grim Noir?" Makarov Said in a manner that showed all levity had left him.

"Yeah, if I had to guess they were probably both part of a dark guild. Fortunately The boy, Rin, had a magic that worked really well against him and we were able to fight him off. But the next day I noticed he was back and he's been tailing us ever since." Said Gidarts failing to see Makarov's frightened expression.

Makarov inhaled slowly before Requiping a small wooden box. "Boy, Grim Noir is not just some dark mage. He is an ancient mage who personally killed at least four of the Ten Wizard Saints when I was a child. He practices a form of lost shadow magic known as Heart of Darkness. It grants him immortality and the power to take over the bodies of multiple victims by implanting a portion of his soul in the body of his opponents after ripping their hearts out. I'm likely only scratching the surface of what his power can accomplish but little is known about him as he rarely leaves survivors. I faced him once nearly forty years ago and had I not taken the time to learn light magic I surly would have perished. If that monster has taken an interest in this boy he is in grave danger." Makarov said as he withdrew a piece of paper from the box and handed it to Gildarts.

Gildarts read it "Capture The Lacrima Thief reward 4,000,000,000 jewels"

"That job is no longer active. The council members who posted that job along with several of the Wizard Saints and Several S-Class mages were killed by Grim. The cowards on the council would rather pretend Grim doesn't exist. But we can discuss that further at a later time. Tell me about this boy." Said Makarov as he returned the paper to its box and returned the wooden box to its dimension.

Gildarts smirked. " He's a strange kid. He uses a form of Lost Gravity magic, and he also uses a strange fire magic, fueled by strange demon particles that supplant the use of ethernano, likely exclusive to his unique heritage. In terms of magical power he could very be more powerful than everyone in the guild combined. That includes you and me, but as per Porylusica having that power and being able to harness it are two different things. I decided to bring him along because he wants to join Fairy Tail. Second, Grim has taken an interest in Rin and wants to kill him" He summarized knowing that they would be discussing everything in greater detail later.

The commotion taking place in front of the guild started sounding more rowdy.

"Holy shit. He's using Requip and some kind of Take Over magic too!" Yelled Macao's voice.

"It's a lot like my sister's magic." Commented another voice.

'My magic?' thought Mira. She perked up at that last comment. She decided to follow Master Makarov and Gildarts outside to see who might be using a magic like her own.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Outside Rin stood motionlessly as fierce blue flames whipped around his body. Outwardly he appeared in control but internally he was in turmoil as he felt his demonic power sowing the seeds of aggression in his mind and the seeds were growing with every passing second and by unleashing his power his physical strength surged leaving Erza at a disadvantage even with her special armor.

Mira watched the fight with rapt attention. Erza seemed far more skilled and comfortable in combat but the amount of power Rin could bring to bear was absurd. However what truly had her attention was Rin's apparent Take Over magic. Having demon particles in her own body she certainly agreed with her brother's assessment. 'He definitely has demon particles and it almost feels like my Satan Soul Take Over but his magic feels weird.' She thought.

Erza watched Rin's transformation and began to wish she could wear heavier armor. However, she wasn't ready to give up yet. With all of her might she hurled one of her weightless daggers at Rin.

Rin instinctively raised his right hand to protect himself from the dagger and his hand was impaled as a result. Shocked by the pain Rin briefly lost control of the anger that had been growing inside him. Rin snarled while yanking the dagger from his hand and the anger he had been struggling to contain manifested as a tidal wave of blue fire that emanated from him and washed over Erza knocking her several meters onto her back. Fortunately, Rin's kindhearted nature and inner desire not to harm Erza protected her from being burned but her armor and weapons weren't so lucky.

The fierce blue flames completely cremated Erza's armor and melted her daggers to slag. Aside from a burn on her palm when the dagger became too hot to handle she was unharmed by the fire. However, in destroying her armor she was now exposed to the full force of Rin's gravity. Under the full force of Rin's gravity and the smothering flames dancing around her face she could barely breathe. Just as she began to worry she realized that her face wasn't being subjected to the intense gravity. With what strength she still had she forced herself to roll out of the range of Rin's gravitational field. Once free of the effects of Rin's magic she promptly leapt to her feet and moved to put more distance between herself and Rin paying no heed to her own nudity.

Rin began to extend the reach of his gravitational field until he saw Erza in all her naked glory which left him so shocked he lost focus for a moment causing his flames to subside until they only danced around his body and his gravity magic ceased completely.

Mira narrowed her eyes as she watched the scene unfold. 'Any idiot should know better than to use a Take Over magic in a sparing match if they don't have complete control of their Take Over. That's a good way to get someone killed.' She thought.

Erza thought to capitalize on his distracted state but her sense of honor wouldn't allow it and she knew he could send his crushing gravity and fire back out in the blink of an eye. Also, she knew she no longer had a countermeasure to. 'This boy's power is unreal. Natsu didn't stand a chance.' She thought to herself. Erza looked down at her nude form and casually requiped into her standard armor as though her nudity was only an minor inconvenience and nothing to be embarrassed about. At this point Rin had recovered from the shock and glared at her, snarling like a beast.

Erza held a hand out as if to say halt and began to speak. "That's enough. I feel if we continue this match one of us may get seriously injured. So, I'm willing to call our match a draw." She said boldly with a straight face that conveyed no emotion. Secretly, she was concerned that Rin was too powerful for her to beat and she no longer had any armors that could serve her well against his unique magic and strength.

Rin continued to glare at Erza for several uncomfortable moments before he seemed to come to his senses. He flared his flames up to conceal the act of hiding his tail and sent his sword back to his Requip dimension. His flames quickly disappeared and revealed Rin still holding a serious expression but no longer demonic in his countenance.

"Fine!" Said Rin still perturbed by the redhead.

"Thank you. I apologize for stabbing your hand."Erza responded while extending her own hand.

Rin looked at his own hand and noticed the bleeding had already stoped. Reluctantly he then extended that same hand and shook her hand. "It's okay. It'll heal." He said.

"Hello there boy. That was quite a show." Said a giant ten of a man. "Gildarts tells me you want to join Fairy Tail." He continued.

"Uh, yes sir." Rin replied somewhat intimidated by the massive giant but mostly confused how someone so huge appeared without him noticing.

"Hmm..." Hummed the giant in a suspenseful drawn out breath.

The giant quickly shrunk down to a diminutive man easily a head shorter than Rin's grandmother. "Okay! The name's Makarov, welcome to Fairy Tail!" The former giant finished in a friendly yet blunt manner.

Rin blinked blankly several times before Makarov's blunt answer sunk in. After taking a few moments to digest his acceptance into Fairy Tail the elation washes over him like a wave. "Alright!!" Shouted Rin surprising himself with how excited he was to be accepted into Fairy Tail.

"So where do you want your mark?" Said Makarov with a smile on his face and a stamp in his hand.

"Huh?" Said Rin.

"The guild mark. Where would you like it?" Responded Makarov.

Rin pinches his chin a gave the matter a moment of thought and responded "how about here?" He said as he held out his hand.

"An unusual location but if you're happy with it so am I." Makarov Said With a quick motion Makarov stamped to palm of Rin's left hand leaving behind a black Fairy Tail emblem.

The entire crowd that had gathered to watch Rin fight suddenly cheered for him and several began congratulating him one by one. First Natsu approached. He wasn't sure when Natsu had woken but hoped the younger child wasn't going to pick another fight with him.

Natsu avoided making eye contact while holding a rather pissed off look on his face. "You've got some pretty good moves. I'll kick your butt one day when I'm stronger." Said Natsu as his scowl turned to a grin and he offered his hand which Rin kindly grasped and shook. "Also..." Natsu continued "can I taste your fire?" He finish which left Rin beyond confused.

Next Erza approached him and said "Welcome to the guild. I hope we can spare again sometime. I feel there is much we can learn from each other."

Next Macao approached and put a hand on Rin's shoulder. "Always happy to have a fellow fire mage." He said with a big grin.

Next Makarov turned to Rin once more. "Fairy Tail is a dysfunctional bunch but it's more than just a guild. It's a family and all families are a little dysfunctional." Makarov said while holding his hands behind his back.

Rin looked at his guild mark appreciatively , considering what the guild master Makarov had said. Despite having lost almost all of his memories deep down he felt the emotional he was feeling now was something he never felt... a sense of belonging.

Breaking him from his mussings a girl about the same age as Erza approached him with and eyebrow raised. She looked him up and drown in an appraising manner with an unchanging scowl on her face.

Rin, feeling a little uncomfortable, forced himself to smile and introduced himself. "Hi I'm Rin. Nice to me you. What's your name?" He said politely.

"Hmm it seems like you've got the demon factor, it seems a bit different though." She stated skeptically while ignoring Rin.

"I didn't catch your name." Rin said trying to stay polite despite his irritation at being ignored.

"How old are you anyway?" She responded flatly ignoring Rin a second time.

"I'm fifteen,... wait you still haven't answered me." Said Rin as he was beginning to grow frustrated.

"I'm Mira, not that that's any business of yours. You just watch yourself. Don't think you can just edge in on my shtick." Mira said in a manner typical of her crass personality.

"Everyone here seems nice except you. Why are you such an asshole?" Rin responded incredulously.

"What did you call me?" Mira demanded, her forehead pressed firmly against Rin's.

"I called you an asshole! You deaf too?" Rin taunt angrily now fully drawn in to a childish bickering match.

"You blue flamed freak!" Mira responded, determined to get the last word in.

"O-hohohohoho" Makarov laughed heartily in response to the spectacle, distracting the two demonic mages from their argument. "You're fitting in already." He said to Rin as everyone else joined in the laughter.


End file.
